Konzum Investment Fund Management will acquire a 45% stake in MKB from Metis Private Capital Fund, the PR agency said, citing a disclosure posted on the website of the Budapest Stock Exchange.    The investment fund manager will also establish a separate private equity fund under the name Metis II, which will purchase a further 4% stake in MKB from Blue Robin Investments, the PR agency added.   

The transactions must still be approved by the National Bank of Hungary (MNB). 

Konzum Group aims to strengthen its presence on the money and capital markets through the acquisition, said Konzum owner and chief executive Gellért Jászai.   

At present Metis Private Capital Fund owns 45% of MKB, Blue Robin Investments 30%, Pannónia Pension Fund 10%, and the lenderʼs employees 15%.  

Konzum Investment Fund Management is owned by the business magnate Lőrinc Mészáros (53%), a close ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán whose wealth has grown spectacularly under the present Fidesz-led government, and Konzum (47%).   

MKB was sold for HUF 37 billion in a privatization about a year ago, following restructuring by the National Bank of Hungary (MNB).