Banco Santander to buy Allied Irish Banks stake in Bank Zachodni for $3.74 bln

Banco Santander SA, Spain's biggest bank, yesterday said that it has reached a deal to buy Allied Irish Bank's (AIB) stake in Poland's Bank Zachodni WBK SA (BZWBK) for €3.1 billion ($3.74 billion).

Banco Santander is buying the entire  70.36-per cent shareholding held by AIB in Bank BZWBK for €2.9 billion and its 50 per cent shareholding in BZWBK AIB Asset Management S.A, for €3,088 million.

The acquisition will be carried out through a public tender offer for 100 per cent of the capital of BZWBK, a Warsaw Stock Exchange listed bank and Poland's third largest bank by branches and profits.

AIB had entered the Polish market in 1995, when it acquired a non-controlling interest in Wielkopolski Bank Kredytowy. In 2001, Wielkopolski Bank Kredytowy merged with Bank Zachodni to form BZWBK, following which AIB held a 70.5 per cent stake in the newly-merged entity.

AIB's stake in BZWBK decreased to its current holding of 70.36 per cent, when BZWBK's share capital was increased in 2009.

Dublin-based AIB, one of Ireland's big four commercial banks, is selling its stake as part of its recent announcement of capital raising to boost its balance sheet, which has taken a hit by the country's economic downturn and real estate losses.