RZB likely to lose out on bank deal following telecom minister's dismissal

The bid by Raiffeisen Zentralbank (RZB) of Austria to purchase a 25.7% stake in Bank Pocztowy (BP) may fail as a result of the dismissal of Tomasz Szyszko as Telecommunications Minister. The deadline for the offer passed on July 16, but according to a Puls Biznesu report, RZB was willing to see the deadline extended by a month, during which time the valuation of BP would have doubled, from zl.400 million to zl.800 million. According to a Puls Biznesu source close to the transaction, the RZB bid had strong support from Szyszko and his advisers in the Telecommunications Ministry, which supervises Poczta Polska, the majority owner of BP. Poczta Polska is reported to have already chosen an adviser to seek a new investor for BP. (Puls Biznesu, p. 4) P.J.