RIGA, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) - The Latvian government at a closed meeting on Tuesday approved an agreement with a group of international investors buying state-owned shares in Latvia's Citadele Bank, the head of the Latvian Privatization Agency (PA) told journalists following the government meeting.

PA head Ansis Spridzans declined to give more details about the sell-off agreement, but noted that the buyers of Citadele Bank were expected to arrive in Latvia soon to sign the contract. This is when more information on the deal will be provided, Spridzans said.

The ownership of the state-held shares in Citadele Bank is not expected to change before next spring.

Citadele Bank CEO Guntis Belavskis told the press that the agreement approved by the government included a two-year ban on reselling the bank. "This, however, does not necessarily mean that the shares will be resold in two years. These are highly experienced investors who wanted to get as good contract terms as possible and as much freedom as possible," BNS quoted Belavskis as saying.

He added that there were no indications that the buyers of Citadele Bank were planning to resell the shares at the earliest opportunity.

Latvia will receive about 74 million euros (94 million U.S. dollars) for its stake in Citadele Bank.

Latvia's talks with the investors had become protracted as the parties struggled to agree on some terms of the sell-off deal, including the length of the resell ban. Latvia wanted the resell ban to be at least five years long, while the investors only offered one year.

In line with the Latvian government's decision taken on September 16, the 75 percent stake in Citadele Bank currently held by the Latvian state will be sold to a group of international investors, including U.S. private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings which intends to buy 25 percent. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) intends to keep its 25 percent stake in the bank.

Citadele Bank, established as a result of restructuring Latvia's Parex Bank, launched operations in August 2010. In late 2008, the Latvian government took over the privately-owned Parex Bank, which was the second largest bank in Latvia at the time, in order to save it from looming bankruptcy amid the global financial crisis. Endit

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