According to Polish daily Parkiet, PKO BP, BNP Paribas and Santander are all still participating in the bidding process for BZ WBK. Moreover, BNP Paribas representatives will meet with Polish state representatives today to complain about overwhelming state support for PKO BP in the acquisition process. At the same time, Bloomberg newswire has revealed that Apax Partners LLP are in talks with Santander about a possible joint-bid for BZ WBK, AIB’s Polish unit. Our view: This latest news runs contrary to a press release issued on Friday that said Santander had been granted exclusive talks over the acquisition of BZ WBK. Nevertheless, the winner of the bidding process will be named by the end of September. We expect the news to have a neutral trading impact on the stock price today.