According to BPH, the sale, which has a transaction value of PLN62.5m ($19m), was completed in a bid to honor commitments made by GE to the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (PFSA) at the time of acquisition, to increase its free float to 25%.
Claimed to be part of such commitment to the PFSA, the transaction is being pursued independently of GE Capital’s recent announcement that it is exploring strategic options for the sale of its shares in the bank.
Prior to the transaction, GE owned a 89.16% stake at BPH.
In November, GE announced its plans to divest its stake in its unit BPH as part of its move to focus away from finance towards industry, reports Reuters.
Following sustained losses, Poland’s banking regulator KNF has kept BPH under special remedial measures until 2016. As part of these meaures, BPH has to provide financial projections and action plans to the watchdog.
Image: GE Headquarters in Fairfield, Connecticut. Photo: courtesy of Markvs88
