ALLIED Irish Bank has been given clearance by the National Bank of Poland to increase its stake in Wielkopoloski Bank Kredytowy (WBK) to 20 per cent.
But the clearance is not related to plans by the Polish finance ministry to sell 20 per cent of the bank in which AIB already has a 16.3 per cent stake, according to Mr David McCrossan, managing director of AIB European Investments.
AIB has not yet decided whether it will bid for some or all of the shares put up for tender in January by the Polish finance ministry, he said last night. Potential bidders have until March 11th to submit offers for the 13,763,200 WBK shares which the ministry is offering.
Offers must be made for blocks of at least 5 per cent.
AIB already has a 16.3 per cent stake in WBK as well as an option to buy 24 per cent held by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The formula for taking over the EBRD stake is already agreed but has not been disclosed.
One of the criteria involved is likely to relate to the market price of the shares, which has been rising steadily since AIB acquired its stake in March 1993.
The government is understood to be looking for a premium of at least 10 per cent over the market price for its shares. It intends to retain a stake of about 5 per cent in WBK.
"We applied for clearance to take our stake up to the 20 per cent level before the ministry announced its plans. There are a number of significant levels of holdings in Poland - 10 per cent, 20 per cent, 33 per cent.
"We thought it would be sensible to have the flexibility to buy up loose shares on the market if we wanted to, so we put in the application. The government sale is an entirely separate issue," Mr McCrossan said.
