The contest for control of Addiko Bank has become a strategic battle over banking assets in Serbia and the wider Western Balkans, with competing offers from Raiffeisen Bank International and Slovenia’s NLB carrying sharply different implications for the group’s regional subsidiaries.
On 14 July 2026, Raiffeisen reported acceptances covering 9,890,151 Addiko shares, equivalent to 51.28 per cent of the shares subject to its offer. RBI has lowered its minimum acceptance condition to more than 55 per cent, bringing the transaction closer to completion before the 22 July deadline.
RBI is offering €26.50 per share. NLB has raised its competing proposal to €37 per share and intends to reduce its own acceptance threshold to more than 50 per cent. The €10.50-per-share difference reflects not only competing valuations but two distinct strategies for Addiko’s network.
RBI’s plan includes the subsequent sale of Addiko subsidiaries in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro to Serbia’s Alta Group, controlled by Davor Macura. Alta has tendered its 1,878,167 Addiko shares, representing 9.63 per cent, into RBI’s offer.
An RBI victory followed by the planned divestments would give Alta a substantially larger banking platform in Serbia and a direct route to regional expansion. An NLB acquisition would instead deepen the role of a Slovenian banking group across overlapping Western Balkan markets and could result in a different integration strategy.
Addiko serves approximately 900,000 customers through 155 branches and digital channels in five countries. Its regional value is based on consumer finance, small and medium-sized enterprise lending and an established operating platform across several relatively fragmented banking markets.
For Serbia, the eventual ownership structure could influence competition for deposits, unsecured consumer lending, SME financing and digital banking. A stronger domestic banking group could improve local decision-making and create a new regional player, although greater concentration would require careful regulatory oversight. Integration into NLB could provide access to a larger balance sheet and regional systems, but it could also lead to product, branch and staffing consolidation.
The unusually wide gap between the competing offers raises questions about transaction execution. RBI’s lower price is supported by a clearly identified asset-disposal strategy, while NLB’s higher offer must ultimately be justified through integration benefits, earnings growth and cost efficiencies.
Regulatory approvals will remain decisive even after shareholder thresholds are reached. Banking acquisitions involving several jurisdictions require coordination among national central banks, competition authorities and European supervisory institutions.
Addiko’s Serbian operations have therefore become part of a broader realignment of Western Balkan banking. The transaction is not simply a shareholder change at an Austrian banking group. It will determine whether a new Serbia-based regional platform emerges or whether another major Slovenian institution expands its control of financial intermediation across the region.
