Published: January 9, 2015
Development bank takes step back as possible new shareholders in Alior Bank line up.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has reduced its equity stake in Poland’s Alior Bank.
The bank sold 2.1mn shares on the Warsaw Stock Exchange through an accelerated bookbuilding process, reducing its stake from 8% to 5.023%. Although no value was given, the stake is worth PLZ166mn (US$45.8mn) at current prices.
At the same time, French investment bank Societe Generale and Poland’s Getin Noble Bank (the country’s sixth largest by assets) are reportedly in separate talks to buy a 26% stake in Alior Bank from its largest shareholder Carlo Tassara, a holding company owned by French businessman Romain Zaleski.