KBC in plot to dispose of its Polish units
BELGIAN financial services group KBC is looking into the sale of Polish units and a capital increase as an alternative to its current divestment plan, according to reports in a Belgian newspaper.
The report said that KBC, which needs to sell assets to pay back €7bn (£6.2bn) of state aid received during the financial crisis, was considering a three-point adjustment to its plan.
This would involve the sale of Polish units Kredyt Bank and insurer Warta, in place of the partial flotation of Czech unit CSOB.
KBC would pay back €3.5bn to Belgium at the end of the year or the start of 2012 and would also raise some €2bn via a capital increase, possibly early in 2012.
KBC insisted that it was still seeking to execute the plan agreed with the EC at the end of 2009, with no change in strategy, though it continued to receive alternative offers and proposals.
The European authorities would likely need to give their consent to any change in the previously approved payback scheme.
“[KBC] is currently pro-actively examining what the added value of certain changes to its strategic plan could be,” KBC said in a statement.
“However, at this stage, it is impossible to comment specifically on the outcome of such an exercise, or the practical details.”
KBC has already sold its Belgian banking unit Centea, British brokerage unit Peel Hunt and its Asian derivatives unit, but the sale of KBL Private Bankers to India’s Hinduja Group collapsed last month.
The flotation of a minority stake in CSOB has been put back a number of times.
KBC hired Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch last month to explore the possible sale of its Polish assets, and according to reports the banks are also advising on the capital increase option.
The firm’s shares sank more than six per cent to €27.56 yesterday in its Belgian listing on investor concerns about the ongoing restructuring.