Tempelton Asset Management urges rejection of ING bid for 45% of Slaski

Tempelton Asset Management, a unit of Franklin Resources, has appealed to Bank Slaski's (BSK) minority shareholders to reject the ING Group's bid for a 45% stake in the bank, a bid it considers too low. Next Monday a tender was supposed to be called for almost 4.2 million shares in the Katowice-based bank. ING offered a unitary share price of zl.265. The tender was to be closed on 23 April. However, to negotiate a higher share price, the shareholders owning 20% stake in the company want the general meeting to be held on April 17 in order to elect BSK's supervisory board and to appoint an auditor to assist in obtaining the higher share price. Tempelton Asset Management, holding 7.2% of shares in BSK, stresses that ING's offer represents 130% of the shares' book value. We assess the value at zl.280 per share, excluding the bonus for taking control, says Andrzej Powierza, an investment advisor at Wood & Company. (Reuters, Puls Biznesu p. 8) M. S.-C.