Belgian bank KBC signed late yesterday a deal for taking over 75% of the Bulgarian 9th largest Economic and Investment Bank (EIBank) at the price of EUR 295mn, reads a press release on the local stock exchange. The contract is arranged with Iceland’s investment fund Novator, which held the biggest stake in EIBank, and local shareholders. KBC will thus become one of the major players in the local financial sector, as it has acquired the country’s largest insurer DZI earlier in the year. EIBank reports a total asset value of BGN 1.46bn (EUR 746mn) as of the end June and a net profit of BGN 30mn for last year. The net profit of the bank dropped to BGN 16.9mn in H1 as compared to BGN 21.3mn a year earlier. The market capitalisation of EIBank stood at about BGN 800mn before the bid of KBC.