Italian Group Intesa Sanpaolo has put Ukrainian-based Pravex-Bank up for sale, reads Kommersant-Ukraine newspaper, with reference to its sources.

The group acquired the bank from the family of Kyiv ex-mayor Leonid Chernovetsky for EUR 493 million in July 2008.

According to the newspaper, the Italian unit of French Group BNP Paribas, which owns UkrSibbank, acted as an investment consultant, and the due diligence of Pravex-Bank was conducted by Delta Bank, Alfa-Bank and Finbank.

"But the Italians did not prepare the documents properly and failed to quickly provide the figures requested on Pravex-Bank. Therefore we decided to prepare better and took a break," reads the newspaper, with reference to one of the bankers, adding that talks would be resumed in late August.

At the same time, Intesa Sanpaolo said that "our policy is not to comment on the market rumors and speculation," and other members of a possible transaction declined to comment on the deal.

Pravex-Bank was founded in 1992. Its sole shareholder in July 2013 was Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A.

According to the National Bank of Ukraine, on April 1, 2013 in terms of total assets the bank ranked 33rd (UAH 5.543 billion) among 175 banks operating in the country.