The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, state-owned Ukrgazbank and Sens Bank, and N.M. Rothschild & Sons Limited, which is part of the Rothschild & Co group, have signed three-party agreements on the provision of financial advisor services for the preparation of the sale of the state stake in the two banks.
"Rothschild & Co was selected as a result of a competitive tender. Rothschild & Co will provide services in a consortium with FinPoint, a Ukrainian investment bank", – the press release from the Ministry of Finance on its website on Friday states.
According to the agreement, the advisor will provide comprehensive financial consultations, including: coordinating the analysis of the banks' activities (due diligence), including for determining the starting price of the sale, preparing information about them for potential investors and attracting investors, as well as assisting in the organization of a competition for the sale of their share packages.
"Attracting an international financial advisor is an important step in implementing the strategy to reduce the state's share in the banking sector. Our task is to ensure a transparent, competitive process for the sale of state stakes in Ukrgazbank and Sens Bank, attract strategic investors, and create conditions for the further development of these institutions", – the words of Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko are quoted in the release.
The next steps in the preparation for the privatization of the banks will be announced on their official websites, the release also states.
As reported, the government 1 October 2025 adopted a resolution on the preparation for the sale of state stakes in Sens Bank and Ukrgazbank, 29 October approved the procedure for attracting an advisor, and 31 March 2026 the tender for its selection was announced. The advisor's remuneration will consist of a fixed part and a success fee of up to 3% of the actual revenues to the state budget from the sale of share packages. The government also formed a commission for the sale of state stakes in banks.
N.M. Rothschild & Sons Limited is a company of the Rothschild & Co group, registered in England and Wales, with its headquarters in London. It specializes in financial consulting, corporate finance, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisory.
The Rothschild&Co group previously provided Ukraine with consultations on restructuring state debt, and this year, Ukrainian Railways hired it to restructure eurobonds.
Ukraine has repeatedly committed to engaging an advisor for the privatization of Sens Bank and Ukrgazbank as part of programs with the International Monetary Fund. Initially, this was planned to be done by the end of September 2024, and most recently, in the new program, by the end of July of this year.
According to the National Bank, as of 1 July 2026, Ukrgazbank with total assets of 228.74 billion hryvnias held the seventh position, and Sens Bank with 157.73 billion hryvnias held the ninth position among 59 banks in Ukraine.
