GE sells shares in Polish lender BPH
PR dla Zagranicy
John Beauchamp
03.12.2014 13:27
US conglomerate General Electric has sold a 1.9 percent stake in Poland’s Bank BPH at 42.5 zloty (12.6 US dollars) per share.
The total value of the 1.47-million-share deal was valued at 62.5 million zloty. Before the deal, General Electric held an 89.16 percent stake in the Polish bank.
The step is among the first taken by GE to divest its control of Bank BPH after pressure from Poland’s financial watchdog KNF to find a seller.
“We continue to explore the potential sale of the business,” Bloomberg reported GE Capital spokesperson Susan Bishop as saying.
In the long run, KNF wants a free float of Bank BPH on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, even if an overseas buyer is found.
“We believe that the obligations taken on, concerning free-float, the public profile of the bank, should be maintained by the new shareholder,” said KNF head Andrzej Jakubiak in October. (rg/jb)
Source: Reuters, Bloomberg