European Commission approved the acquisition of Altamira Cyprus

The European Commission announced today that it has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of Altamira Cyprus by Cyprus Cooperative Bank ("CCB") and Apollo Capital Management, L.P. ("Apollo") of the US.

According to the EC decision, Altamira Cyprus is active in the management, enforcement and recovery of non-performing loans, currently from CCB only. The Commission says that now the company intends to expand its activities to provide its services to other banks and financial institutions in Cyprus. CCB is a bank, active in retail and corporate banking and bankassurance, exclusively in Cyprus. Apollo is a group of global investment funds.

The Commission concluded that the proposed transaction would raise no competition concerns as it would increase the number of non-performing loan management service providers in Cyprus, thus improving the competitive environment.