WARSAW |
WARSAW Feb 7 (Reuters) – Millennium bcp (BCP.LS),
Portugal’s biggest listed bank, has been looking in recent weeks
into possibly selling its controlling stake in Poland’s sixth
biggest, Bank Millennium BIGW.WA, market sources told Reuters.
If it decides to go ahead with a sale BCP would become the
third bank from one of the European Union’s troubled peripheral
euro zone countries to abandon Poland’s market to help boost its
capital position at home, following exits by Allied Irish Banks
and Greece’s EFG Eurobank Ergasias (EFGr.AT).
“The search is on, with BCP checking out the market, looking
for possible buyers,” one official familiar with BCP’s thinking
said.
Another source said a sale could include the buyer also
investing in the Portuguese parent to help boost its
capitalisation and ensure coordination of efforts.
Millennium bcp declined to comment.
($1=2.863 zlotys)
(Reporting by Maciej Onoszko, Adrian Krajewski, Agnieszka
Barteczko and Piotr Bujnicki in Warsaw and the Lisbon newsroom;
Editing by Chris Borowski, Greg Mahlich)