Treasury will maintain control of privatized PKO BP

Treasury will maintain control of privatized PKO BP Less than half of PKO BP S.A. will be privatized leaving at least a 50% plus one stake under control of the Treasury said Cabinet. According to confidential sources the potential investors might be Europejski Fundusz Leasingowy (EFL), Bartimpex S.A. or BRE bank in consortium with Kulczyk Holding. The decision to leave the bank under state control is political and is a direct result of fears of too strong an influence of the foreign capital from privatization of the banking sector. Some say that the last large state-controlled banks should be privatized without involving foreign strategic investors. The most likely scenario for the deal is PKO BP being sold in a public bid, which would dilute power while maintaining an attractive share price for the Treasury. The other less probable solution would be a bank merger with another big sector entity, presumably Bank Handlowy. PKO BP is Poland's biggest retail bank and together with Pekao S.A. holds one-third of all the commercial bank assets in Poland. (Rzeczpospolita, page B7)