According to PAP, Zbigniew Jagiello, the CEO of PKO BP has stated that the bank is analyzing every potential M&A target present on both domestic market and abroad.
Polish Banks: In the case of Nordea it is a matter of price attractiveness. He has added that Nordea Bank is one of potential banks for sale in Poland, other three include Bank Millennium, with the potential transaction returning to the market in autumn, as well as two subsidiaries of French banks. Jagiello has repeated that Alior Bank would not match PKO BP’s profile.
Polish pension funds: In the case of pension fund the CEO has stated that the bank sees no need to further invest capital, unless there is some extraordinary price opportunity, as in the current situation OFE valuations must go down drastically.
Polish investment funds: The CEO has stated that PKO BP could also look into potential acquisition opportunities on the market of investment funds. He has added that the bank is considering potential acquisition of Skarbiec TFI from Enterprise Investors, but once again the price is crucial. The bank does not want to overpay for assets.
Abroad acquisitions: Looking abroad the CEO has stated that PKO BP interest is limited as it is only analyzing potential targets in close proximity to Polish boarders i.e. Czech Republic or Slovakia. Pointing to the Czech Republic, he has stated that KBC could be selling its stake in CSOB. Latter on, this was denied by the KBC spokesperson.
Our view:
We see the news as neutral. All this was already stated by the management during presentation of the new 2013-2015 strategy at the beginning of April.