The Czech Cabinet meets today. Prime Minister Milos Zeman said on Friday (after trading closed) that the Komercni banka tender will not be on Cabinet’s agenda today (there had been speculation that it would), and that the Cabinet will deal with KB privatization in the coming weeks. The next Cabinet meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 4. Though there will not be a formal Cabinet move on KB until then, fresh news and speculation is still forthcoming, as was the case last week, triggering significant volatility in KB’s share price.
The weekly EURO magazine reports today that the leading bid for KB amounts to CZK 51 bil. (CZK 2,236 per share), which could be cut back by as much as CZK 14 bil. (CZK 614 per share) if additional problematic assets are uncovered after the purchase. Government officials are on record as expecting CZK 35 bil.-38 bil. for the state’s 60% stake (1,535-1,666 per share), but the Czech MFDnes daily newspaper last week quoted “a credible source” as saying that latest negotiations with investors suggested a CZK 30 bil.-33 bil. bid range (CZK 1,315-1,447 per share). New information on the bidding could therefore help the stock.
(Ondřej Daťka)