Group DF, uniting assets of Dmytro Firtash, has acquired 100% of the shares in Pravex-Bank (Kyiv) from Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo, the press service of Group DF has reported.

"Today, Group DF signed an agreement with Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo on the acquisition of 100% of shares in Ukraine's Pravex-Bank," reads a press release from the Ukrainian company.

Pravex-Bank will be the second bank after Nadra Bank to be acquired by Group DF.

According to the press release, following completion of all regulatory procedures and receiving approvals from the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine and the National Bank of Ukraine, which is mandatory for the deal to be finalized, Group DF will start realizing its long-term strategy of joint development of the two banks after 2014.

"The acquisition of Pravex-Bank goes in line with Group DF’s strategy for developing its banking business, which is one of the core businesses of the group. This acquisition will substantially strengthen Group DF's positions in the retail segment of Ukraine’s banking sector," Chief Executive Officer of Group DF Borys Krasniansky said.

"Intesa Sanpaolo managed to substantially improve the quality of Pravex-Bank over the recent years, both in terms of the bank's asset portfolio and its governance," he said.

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

According to the National Bank of Ukraine, on October 1, 2013 in terms of total assets the bank ranked 34th (UAH 4.635 billion) among the 178 banks operating in the country. The combined share of assets of the Ukrainian banking system of Pravex-Bank and Nadra Bank was 2.8% as of early October 2013.

The key businesses of Group DF are fertilizer, titanium, gas and banking sectors, while other areas of the group's operation along with real estate include agribusiness, soda ash production and energy infrastructure.