Eureko may take shares in Warta as a way out of PZU

The government is working on a compromise which would allow Eureko to quit its investment in domestic insurance giant PZU. According to Puls Biznesu, one solution would be to exchange a 57.8% stake in the second largest insurer, Warta, currently held by Kulczyk Holding (KH), for Eureko's 20% stake in PZU. However, the success or otherwise of such an operation would depend on whether Eureko would agree to it. "I understand those who say that PZU should not have been sold in the first place, but the government has never proposed that we cancel the agreement," Eureko's Ernst Jansen told Puls Biznesu. However, during an interview yesterday with Gazeta Wyborcza, he added that his company would not resign from PZU as it treated the investment as a long term one. If KH and Eureko opt for the transaction, they would have to propose a settlement with Belgian KBC, holders of a 40.03% stake in Warta, which has often expressed a desire to become the insurer's majority shareholder. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 4) M.M.