Milbank Advises Advent on Acquisition of TBI Bank from 4finance

Milbank LLP advised Advent on the acquisition of TBI Bank EAD (tbi), a leading digital bank in Southeast Europe, from 4finance Holding S.A. (4finance). The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

tbi is a leading challenger bank in South-East Europe, offering innovative financing and shopping solutions to support both merchants and consumers. Operating in five countries, it serves 2.4 million clients through 32,000+ merchant partners and issued 1 million loans in 2024. Its customer-centric digital approach has made it one of the most profitable and efficient banks in the region.

Advent is a leading global private equity investor committed to working in partnership with management teams, entrepreneurs and founders to help transform businesses. With 16 offices across five continents, Advent oversees more than EUR €88 billion in assets under management* and has made 430 investments across 44 countries. Since its founding in 1984, Advent has developed specialist market expertise across our five core sectors: business & financial services, consumer, healthcare, industrial and technology. As one of the largest privately-owned partnerships, 660+ professionals leverage the full ecosystem of Advent’s global resources as well as bespoke tools to support and guide portfolio companies as they seek to achieve their strategic goals.

4finance, founded in 2008, is one of Europe’s largest digital consumer lending groups, operating in 12 countries. Using automation and data-driven strategies, it has issued over €9 billion in loans, including single payment loans, instalment loans, and credit lines. Through its market-leading brands, 4finance provides simple and transparent financial products to millions of customers underserved by traditional lenders.

The Milbank team was led by partners Lara Watt (Corporate/M&A, London) and Sebastian Heim (Corporate/M&A, Munich/London), and included associates Catriona Mather, Drew Mac Donald and Gary Chu (all Corporate/M&A, London). Tax matters were handled by partners Alan Rafferty (Tax, London), Rolf Füger (Tax Munich), special counsel Andrew Callaghan and associate Liam Markham (both Tax, London). Regulatory advice was provided by partner Moritz Lichtenegger and associate Martin Juhasz (both Competition Law, Munich). 

*Assets under management (AUM) as of December 31, 2024. AUM includes assets attributable to Advent advisory clients as well as employee and third-party co-investment vehicles.