Leading Dutch bank Rabobank will likely become a strategic investor in state-owned BGŻ, a bank servicing mainly the agriculture sector

Leading Dutch bank Rabobank will likely become a strategic investor in state-owned BGŻ, a bank servicing mainly the agriculture sector. Rabobank is to acquire a 28.8% stake in BGŻ together with the European Bank for Re construction and Development (EBRD). Following the new BGŻ share offering directed to these two investors, the State Treasury would have a 50% stake in the bank. Rabobank and EBRD are rumored to have beaten off another consortium vying for the BGŻ stake, one which includes Western investment funds, by offering a better price. In order for the deal to go through, however, BGŻ statutes have to be amended to eliminate the privileged p osition of the Treasury among shareholders. BGŻ is the 10th largest bank in Poland in terms of asset size and one of just three still controlled by the state (BGK and PKO BP being the other two). It has almost 300 outlets and a solid retail base, but it specializes mainly in serving the agriculture sector and the food industry. Rabobank is the third largest bank in the Netherlands and it has a similar cooperative bank background as BGŻ. It has been present in Poland since 1996, servicing mainly companies from the food sector and amassing zł.3.5 billion in assets.