ISTANBUL - Turkey's banking watchdog approved an application for Emirates NBD taking over the shares of Denizbank from Russia's Sberbank SBER.MM , the state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Friday.

In April, Dubai's Emirates NBD said it will buy Turkey's Denizbank from Sberbank at 15.48 billion lira ($2.68 billion), a roughly 20 percent discount to a previously agreed price.

 

($1 = 5.7665 liras)

(Writing by Ezgi Erkoyun; Editing by Tuvan Gumrukcu) ((ezgi.erkoyun@thomsonreuters.com; +90-212-350 7051; Reuters Messaging: ezgi.erkoyun.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net;))