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BZ WBK already sold to Santander? 7th September 2010 Santander may have won the bid for BZ WBK, according to Gazeta Wyborcza
Spanish lender Santander has likely won the bid for Allied Irish Banks' controlling stake in Polish Bank Zachodni WBK, claims daily Gazeta Wyborcza, which cites unnamed sources.
The newspaper claims that the management boards of both BZ WBK and Santander have already met in Spain and that Santander is conducting an intensive overview of the loans granted by BZ WBK.
The official announcement as to who will buy the 66-70 percent stake in AIB's Polish arm is to be made this week. The decision has already been delayed as the Irish group previously said it would choose the investor by the end of August ? the Irish government wants the bank to get funds from the deal by the end of the year at the latest so that it can meet capital requirements in its home market.
Pending the official announcement, the daily points to certain facts that show the decision has already been made ? according to Gazeta, BZ WBK President Mateusz Morawiecki and members of the management board met in Spain with Santander boss Alfredo Saenz. The meeting is said to have been arranged by AIB representatives. Moreover, Santander envoys are said to be at BZ WBK's Warsaw headquarters meticulously analyzing the bank's credit portfolio. And according to Gazeta's source, this looks very much like due diligence.
BZ WBK is the fourth-largest bank in Poland in terms of clients served and brings in almost zł.1 billion in profit a year. AIB wants to sell it for approximately ?3.5 billion. The price scared away some bidders, but Polish PKO BP, Santander and French BNP Paribas Fortis all submitted bids on Friday, according to media reports.
Santander already owns the Polish branch of AIG, but acquiring BZ WBK would give the company a large bridgehead into the Polish banking market.
From Warsaw Business Journal by Martyna Olik
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