Hungarian Post Office bids for all shares of state-owned Postabank

The Hungarian Post Office Rt has made an open bid for the purchase of all shares of [the state-owned] Postabank Rt at 180 per cent of their nominal value. The bid, which was published in Magyar Toekepiac [Hungarian Stock Market] today, has not yet been approved by the state supervision of financial institutions.

According to the bid, the value of Postabank’s own capital was established to stand at 35bn forints [one dollar is about 280 forints].

Currently the Hungarian Post Office Rt holds 33 per cent of Postabank’s shares. Postabank will be bought by Hungarian Post Office Rt on the basis of a government decision taken last February and a government decree passed in July [2001].

Source: Duna TV satellite service, Budapest, in Hungarian 1700 gmt 21 Jan 02

BBC Monitoring. Copyright BBC