UniCredit (4,81 EUR, 1,58%) has announced it would like to sell up to 23.9m shares or a 9.1% stake in Bank Pekao in an accelerated book-building process. UniCredit has stated that the sale will enable it to make better use of its capital resources within the group. UniCredit has added that Bank Pekao remains its core business and that it does not plan to sell a further stake. At the same time UniCredit has agreed to a one-year lockup. Our view: In the short-term we expect a negative market reaction to the news. The stock was strong in the recent months and the bank is valued with substantial premium to peers. Following the transaction UniCredit will hold at least a 50.1% stake in the bank. In the mid-term the transaction may have some positive trading impact due to the improvement in Bank Pekao’s free float.