The Service of the Commission for the Protection of Competition received, according to Section 13 of the Control of Concentrations between Enterprises Law (Number 22(I)/99), a notification of a proposed concentration on behalf of Alpha Bank A.E. concerning the acquisition of a sector of CITIBANK INTERNATIONAL PLC in Greece and the share capital of Diners Club of Greece Finance Company SA.
Alpha Bank A.E. is a company duly registered under the laws of Greece. The said company is the mother company of Alpha Bank group of companies and is active in the banking and financial services sector. In Cyprus, Alpha is mainly active in the financial services sector through its subsidiaries, Alpha Bank Cyprus Ltd and Emporiki Bank Cyprus Ltd, as well as in the insurance sector through its subsidiary Alpha Insurance Ltd.
The sector of CITIBANK which consist one of the targets in this transaction includes the following:
a) The activities related to payment cards, credit and debit,
b) Retail banking and banking for small and medium enterprises,
c) mediation in insurance products.
Diners CO which is the other target in this transaction is a company duly registered under the laws of Greece. The company operates in issuing and clearing cards with the International brand Diners and is licensed to carry out these transactions by Diners Club International Ltd.