UniCredito Italiano‘s public call for 28.97% shares in Bank BPH wound up on Wednesday without success as no shares were tendered for sale within the bid during the acceptance period, CDM Pekao, a brokerage organizing the call, said in a communiqué on Friday. UCI offered PLN702.11 per share. Thursday’s close at the Warsaw bourse was PLN815. UniCredito announced earlier that it wanted to merge Bank BPH, in which it gained 71.03% after taking over Germany’s HVB with its Polish asset - Bank Pekao SA. The merger would take place in one to two years. If that scenario materializes the largest bank in Poland would be formed, controlling around 20% of the market. However, the Polish government strongly opposes these plans.
Meanwhile, the treasury ministry asked the Banking Supervisory Commission to let its representative participate in the KNB’s sitting on the motion of UniCredito Italiano to permit the bank to exercise the rights from 71.03% in Bank BPH. The Treasury also wants the KNB to decline to give such a permit, the ministry said in a communiqué on Friday. The Banking Supervisory Commission invited UniCredito Italiano’s CEO Alessandro Profumo to its sitting on Mar. 8, when the KNB is to deal with UCI’s motion, the central bank earlier said.