Vereinsbank chosen to negotiate for BPH stake
The German bank has not yet been chosen as the investor for BPH, although a decision about the sale could be made as early as this week, according to a source close to the negotiations.
The decision to negotiate exclusively with Vereinsbank follows on the heels of reports late last week that Sweden's Skandinaviska Enchilda Banken (S-E-Banken) was chosen as the strategic investor.
The Treasury Ministry claimed that the report, in national daily Gazeta Wyborcza, was erroneous, but did not specify in what way.
However, the source told the Business Journal: "Right now the state treasury holds negotiations with one partner and S-E-Banken it's not."
The source also said that there was no linkage between the sale of more than 40% of BPH's shares held by the ministry with the purchase of 15.6% of the bank held by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
"This has never been an issue," the source said. "The state treasury can't negotiate on the EBRD's behalf."
The EBRD would likely sell its stake to a strategic investor, but this has not been presented to any bidder as a part of the deal for the ministry's stake, the source said. Once negotiations for the government holding are completed, separate talks would have to be concluded with the EBRD.
The exclusive negotiations with Vereinsbank are likely to come as a surprise to many, who had expected S-E-Banken to be chosen from the short-list of four bidders for BPH, which is traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE). S-E-Banken has been determined to enter the Polish market and previously bid unsuccessfully for Polski Bank Rozwoju (PBR).
Other banks short listed for BPH included Allied Irish Bank (AIB), which owns more than 60% of Poznan-based Wielkopolski Bank Kredytowy (WBK), and ABN Amro, which did not submit a final bid.
While S-E-Banken was looking to BPH for a foothold on the Polish market, both Vereinsbank and AIB wanted the stake to further expand in Poland.
If it successfully completes the negotiations, the purchase of a stake in BPH would significantly expand Vereinsbank's presence in Poland.
The bank is a major player in Germany and on July 21, 1997 its presence was enlarged by the merger of Vereinsbank and Bayerische Hypotheken-und Wechsel Bank. It has total assets of DM 813 billion and in Germany has a 4.3% market share in the retail market and 4.5% share in the corporate market.
In Poland, the merger between Vereinsbank Polska, which has been present here since 1996, and Hypo-Bank Polska, on the market since 1995, is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
Vereinsbank Polska, which has total assets of zl. 730 million ($202.7 million), has only one branch, in Warsaw. Hypo-Bank Polska, in addition to its Warsaw office, has outlets in Szczecin, Wroclaw and Poznan. The merged banks plan to open offices in Katowice, Gdansk, lodz and Krakow.
Acquiring a stake in BPH would give Hypo-und Vereinsbank access to 170 BPH branches around Poland. These branches would also give the German bank, which has so far been focused on corporate and private banking, access to a retail customer base of over 300,000, mainly in southern Poland.
BPH is the seventh largest bank in Poland with almost zl. 10 billion ($2.9 billion) in total assets. At the end of 1997, the bank posted a net profit of zl. 314 million ($91 million). Apart from the state treasury and EBRD, other shareholders are ING Barings (with Bank Slaski) with 12.6%.
The decision to negotiate exclusively with Vereinsbank follows on the heels of reports late last week that Sweden's Skandinaviska Enchilda Banken (S-E-Banken) was chosen as the strategic investor.
The Treasury Ministry claimed that the report, in national daily Gazeta Wyborcza, was erroneous, but did not specify in what way.
However, the source told the Business Journal: "Right now the state treasury holds negotiations with one partner and S-E-Banken it's not."
The source also said that there was no linkage between the sale of more than 40% of BPH's shares held by the ministry with the purchase of 15.6% of the bank held by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
"This has never been an issue," the source said. "The state treasury can't negotiate on the EBRD's behalf."
The EBRD would likely sell its stake to a strategic investor, but this has not been presented to any bidder as a part of the deal for the ministry's stake, the source said. Once negotiations for the government holding are completed, separate talks would have to be concluded with the EBRD.
The exclusive negotiations with Vereinsbank are likely to come as a surprise to many, who had expected S-E-Banken to be chosen from the short-list of four bidders for BPH, which is traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE). S-E-Banken has been determined to enter the Polish market and previously bid unsuccessfully for Polski Bank Rozwoju (PBR).
Other banks short listed for BPH included Allied Irish Bank (AIB), which owns more than 60% of Poznan-based Wielkopolski Bank Kredytowy (WBK), and ABN Amro, which did not submit a final bid.
While S-E-Banken was looking to BPH for a foothold on the Polish market, both Vereinsbank and AIB wanted the stake to further expand in Poland.
If it successfully completes the negotiations, the purchase of a stake in BPH would significantly expand Vereinsbank's presence in Poland.
The bank is a major player in Germany and on July 21, 1997 its presence was enlarged by the merger of Vereinsbank and Bayerische Hypotheken-und Wechsel Bank. It has total assets of DM 813 billion and in Germany has a 4.3% market share in the retail market and 4.5% share in the corporate market.
In Poland, the merger between Vereinsbank Polska, which has been present here since 1996, and Hypo-Bank Polska, on the market since 1995, is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
Vereinsbank Polska, which has total assets of zl. 730 million ($202.7 million), has only one branch, in Warsaw. Hypo-Bank Polska, in addition to its Warsaw office, has outlets in Szczecin, Wroclaw and Poznan. The merged banks plan to open offices in Katowice, Gdansk, lodz and Krakow.
Acquiring a stake in BPH would give Hypo-und Vereinsbank access to 170 BPH branches around Poland. These branches would also give the German bank, which has so far been focused on corporate and private banking, access to a retail customer base of over 300,000, mainly in southern Poland.
BPH is the seventh largest bank in Poland with almost zl. 10 billion ($2.9 billion) in total assets. At the end of 1997, the bank posted a net profit of zl. 314 million ($91 million). Apart from the state treasury and EBRD, other shareholders are ING Barings (with Bank Slaski) with 12.6%.
