Italian lender Unicredit is close to selling a majority of its stake in Poland’s Pekao SA to state-controlled insurer PZU, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
The deal is valued at PLN 11 billion (USD 2.88 billion), and would see UniCredit offloading a 30% stake in Pekao to PZU, the largest insurer in the CEE region, according to sources close to the matter.
If the deal goes through, UniCredit would retain a 10% stake in the Polish bank, the paper said.
PZU confirmed this press report.
Poland’s Law and Justice (PiS) government has vowed to increase its control of the country’s banking industry.
