At an Extraordinary General Meeting (‘EGM’) of Bank Gospodarki ?ywno?ciowej (‘BGZ’ or ‘the Bank’) yesterday the main shareholders, Rabobank and the Treasury, decided to conduct an initial public offering (‘IPO’) of BG? on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Rabobank owns 59% while the State Treasury owns 37% of the company. The IPO of BG? should take place between 1 May, 2011 and 22 January, 2012. Rabobank is expected to remain a majority owner of BG? to enhance its presence in Poland.
In preparation for the IPO, a resolution to increase the number of Supervisory Board members from eight to ten was also adopted at the EGM. The resolution will be, however, implemented after the General Meeting which is to be held after the first listing of the Bank’s shares on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Mr Waldemar Maj, a representative of the Treasury, and Mr Hendrik Adams, a representative of Rabobank joined the Supervisory Board following the EGM.
Waldemar Maj holds a PhD degree in physics (from the Institute of Physics at the Polish Academy of Sciences) and is an MBA graduate from Harvard University (Harvard Business School). Mr Maj was the Chairman of the IPO committee on the Supervisory Board of PZU. His responsibilities comprised preparing the PZU for the listing, as well as supervision of the sale of shares in PZU. His previous positions were, inter alia, Vice President for Finance at PKN Orlen S.A. and Vice-President of the bank BG? S.A. Rabobank, which holds 59% of shares in BGZ, is one of the world’s largest banks, having assets in excess of € 670 billion and is the only bank with a AAA credit rating from Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. The development of BG? is an important element in Rabobank’s long-term strategy for Poland, and the stability of Rabobank’s operational strategy is expected to be a strong factor in the long-term success of BGZ.
BG? is one of the leading commercial banks in the Polish market, specializing in the financing of agriculture, food economy and regional infrastructure.
The Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of Poland, which holds 37% of the shares in BGZ, believes that Rabobank’s majority shareholding will help to underpin the continued development of BG? and will be viewed positively by both domestic and foreign financial investors.
Minster Aleksander Grad, Polish Minister of the State Treasury, commented:
“We are delighted to announce the proposed IPO of BGZ, which we expect to take place between May 2011 and January 2012, depending upon market conditions. This is another positive step in the Ministry’s privatisation programme and it further strengthens Warsaw as a financial hub for Central and Eastern Europe.
“The continued support of Rabobank, one of the world’s leading banks should help to guarantee and underpin the further development of BGZ and demonstrates Rabobank’s long term commitment to building its business in Poland.”