Shareholders prepare to vote on merger of PBK and BPH

Shareholders in Bank Przemyslowo-Handlowy (BPH) and Powszechny Bank Kredytowy (PBK) will vote tomorrow on a merger that will create Poland's third largest bank. The merger is planned to take place before the end of the year. "If all goes well, the shares of the joint bank should make their debut on the Warsaw bourse during the first half of January 2002, which will coincide with the withdrawal of PBK shares," said BPH president, Jozef Wancer. The boards have already decided on an exchange parity of two PBK shares for one BPH share. After the merger is completed PBK will receive 51.08% of votes at the general shareholders meeting, while BPH will be left with the remaining 48.92%. The union of the two banks is an immediate result of the merger of their foreign investors, HypoVereinsbank, which owns BPH, and Bank Austria, owner of PBK. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 36) M.T.K.