The Euro newsweekly reports that some conditions related to Societe Generale’s purchase of Komercni banka have not yet been met, jeopardizing the receipt of CZK 40 bil. of sale proceeds by the end of the year as the government had sought. Societe Generale has selected a relatively late timing (November) for the integration of its Czech branch with KB. Moreover, Societe Generale has not yet asked the Czech National Bank for approval of the share transfer. Czech officials plan to meet top-level Societe Generale representatives on August 30, and a KB EGM is planned toward speeding up the integration process. Given the rather technical nature of these delays, we do not think that this news represents negative for the stock at present (though persistent delays could).
(Jiri Soustruznik)