ING waits for gov't green light

ING, a Dutch risk-management giant, plans to takeover Handlowy Heller. The buy-out will take two transactions, the first of which has already been concluded, since ING Group has already bought out Handlowy-Heller shares from GE Commercial Finance.

The second step will see ING buy the rest of Heller's shares from Bank Handlowy SA, which is the main stockholder of Handlowy-Heller.

ING wants to combine factoring activities with its corporate business. However, the takeover is not yet on solid ground. "All these transactions are still theoretical, since they are subject to a positive opinion from UOKiK (the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection) and other supervisory bodies in Poland," said Piotr Utrata, a spokesperson for ING Bank Śląski. 

The Dutch firm currently has a 25-percent stake in Handlowy-Heller.