Dermot Desmond has bought one third of Rietumu Banka, Latvia's fourth biggest bank in terms of assets.
Reitumu said Desmond bought 33.1% from a small number of existing shareholders including one of the bank's founders, Tony Levin. No value for the purchase was given.
Rietumu Banka, at the end of July, had 726 million Latvian lats ($1.29 billion) in assets and is roughly half the size of the Baltic state's biggest bank, Parex. The total amount of deposits in July was 631 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 41%.
Desmond said that he bought into the bank because he was impressed with what his friend and the bank's chairman, fellow Irishman Michael J Bourke, had done in developing the business.
'This opportunity came through one of my former colleagues and I like what he has done with the bank,' Mr Desmond said, adding he had no further plans to increase his stake in Reitumu or in additional holdings in any other banks.
'The bank has a tremendous track record and we share a common vision for the future development of the bank - to be the leading corporate and wealth management bank in the Baltic region and CIS,' commented Mr Desmond.
'I am impressed by Latvia's rapid pace of development and by its emergence as a financial centre for the region,' he added.
A senior bank official said he would not comment on the value of the deal, but that it was significant in terms of the Latvian banking industry. Reitumu has offices and branches throughout Latvia - one of the European Union's fastest growing economies - as well as offices across the Baltics, other former Soviet states and in Russia.
Desmond, who is the biggest shareholder in Scottish soccer club Celtic, will join Rietumu's supervisory council.
Desmond founded IIU in 1995 as an equity investment and corporate finance management company for this investments. He also has interests in London City Airport, Sandy Lane Hotel, Betdaq and Daon.
