Balkans Battle for Addiko Ruffled by Bid From Slovenian Lender

Addiko Bank is becoming one of the hottest acquisition targets in southeastern Europe after Slovenian regional heavyweight Nova Ljubljanska banka d.d. joined two Serbian lenders already jostling for stakes in the Balkans consumer-loan specialist.

NLB said it was offering €20 per share for Vienna-listed Addiko with the aim of taking a majority stake in the bank, the lender said in a regulatory statement. The offer values the company at about €390 million ($422 million).

The counter-bid represents a 14.3% premium to the €17.5 offered by Serbian businessman Miodrag Kostic’s Agri Europe Cyprus Ltd., who said in March he wants ...