Treasury presses EBRD to buy 10% of insurer PZU

With investor interest in the sale of a stake in PZU cooling, the Treasury has been pressing the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to buy a 10% share package in the insurance giant. Sources close to PZU quoted by Puls Biznesu say that the Treasury is seeking euro 250 million from the sale. However, the EBRD claims that it is not the bank's normal practice to buy such large stakes in companies. An EBRD representative, who asked not to be named, said that the bank would be seeking to buy a smaller share package, with euro 100 million a more realistic spending figure. The Treasury is keen for the EBRD to take up the option of acquiring the 10% stake because of the difficulties it has experienced in finding investors for PZU. However, even if a deal were to be agreed, it is not clear whether the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), the party expected to win Sunday's election, would go ahead with the privatization. (Puls Biznesu, p. 6) P.W.