PZU-PKO merger plans leaked to Rzeczpospolita

According to the plans of the Treasury Ministry, PKO would take over the whole stake in the insurance company owned by the state in two phases. It would also take over the burden of claims of minority shareholder in PZU, Dutch Eureko, which is demanding privatization or massive compensation of up to EUR 9 billion. In this way the largest company in this part of Central Europe would be created. It would also allow the State Treasury to strengthen its influence on the new entity as currently it holds a 55% stake in PZU and 51.5% in PKO, but at the same time it would receive money for the shares transferred to the bank. The international conflict with Eureko would have a lower significance of being a dispute between the two companies. The management boards of both companies did not go into details about the plans, but confirmed that the two should closely cooperate, but analysts are very skeptical about the merger. (Rzeczpospolita, pp. A1, B1) M.M.