Bank of Georgia (BOG) said on May 13 it had bought 70% equity interest in Belarusky Narodny Bank (BNB) for USD 34.2 million.

According to the agreement BOG has an option to acquire the remaining 30% equity interest in BNB over the next three years.

According to the BOG, Minsk-based BNB had total assets of USD 48.9 million and total equity of USD 24.6 million as of December 2007. BNB has four branches and service centers and over 100 employees, BOG said in a statement.

“This acquisition marks our entry into the Belarusian market and represents another step towards the implementation of our international expansion strategy. We are excited to be one of the earlier international entrants into the promising Belarusian banking market,” Nikoloz Enukidze, BOG board chairman, said. “With this transaction our international acquisition objectives for 2008 are achieved and we will now focus our management resources on the integration of our subsidiaries in Belarus and Ukraine into Bank of Georgia group.”

BOG bought Universal Bank of Development & Partnership (UBDP) in Ukraine for USD 81.7 million last October.