Komárek cashes out half his Fibank stake for $28M, two-thirds gain in six years
What's the deal? Czech billionaire Karel Komárek has sold roughly half his shares in FibankDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Bulgaria's fifth-largest bank, netting about 595 million koruna (roughly $28 million). That marks a gain of about two-thirds over six years. He keeps a 4% stake worth some 620 million koruna, remaining Fibank's third-largest private shareholder.
Why now? The timing follows a sharp run-up: Fibank shares gained 22% on the Sofia exchange over the past month, buoyed by strong half-year results. The bank lifted net interest income 18% year-on-year and grew net profit 16% to €75 million.
What's the endgame? Komárek's foundation, Valea Foundation, gave no reason for the sale. "It is a private matter for Karel Komárek. We will not comment," said Dana Dvořáková, spokeswoman for his KKCG groupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → (translated from Czech).
He first bought in during 2020, when Bulgaria was preparing to join the European banking union. Fibank had failed European Central Bank stress tests — the worst of six banks reviewed — with a capital shortfall of €263 million. Komárek's fresh capital secured him just under 8% of the bank.
What could go wrong? Fitch rates Fibank at B, deeming it a speculative, higher-risk investment. The reason: a persistently high share of impaired assets that stays above peers and continues to weigh on profitability. The agency did shift its outlook to positive on falling bad loans.
Had the stake been purely financial, a better exit came last August, when shares traded at €5.40 against roughly €4.20 today. Fibank also competes against larger, better-capitalised foreign banks.
The signal: Bulgaria's deepening integration into European finance — tighter ECB oversight and the country's euro adoption this January — helped underpin the bet. Fibank's pivot toward mortgages and consumer lending, with its mortgage book up 30% to over €1 billion, has given it the highest net interest margin among the country's ten largest banks. For Komárek, a partial exit locks in profit while keeping a seat at the table.
Read more: e15.cz
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
