WARSAW--Three European banks--Spain's Banco Santander (SAN.MC),
France's BNP Paribas (BNP.FR) and Italy's Unicredit (UCG.MI)--are
interested in strengthening their presence in Poland through the
acquisition of Bank Gospodarki Zywnosciowej (BGZ.WA), daily Puls
Biznesu reports Friday, citing unnamed sources close to the
transaction.
The Netherlands' Rabobank recently said it was weighing
"strategic options" for its small Polish unit BGZ, of which it
controls nearly 90%, and Italy's Unicredit admitted Thursday it had
filed a preliminary bid for it.
However, according to Puls Biznesu, France's BNP Paribas has
offered the best price and is closest to success, with a final
decision most likely due around end-October.
BNP Paribas and Rabobank declined to comment on the matter, the
newspaper reported.
Over the last two years, Poland's banking sector has seen a
number of mergers as slower economic growth, increased competition,
market fragmentation and regulatory pressures have prompted foreign
owners to sell their local units.
Earlier this year, Poland's PKO BP acquired Scandinavian
Nordea's local unit, while Santander's arm BZ WBK bought Belgium's
KBC unit in 2012.
Newspaper website: www.pb.pl
Write to the Warsaw bureau at djnews.warsaw@dowjones.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires