UniCredit Launches Sale of a Stake in Polish Bank Pekao

MILAN—Italian lender UniCredit SpA said late Tuesday it launched the sale of a stake of up to 10% in Polish subsidiary Bank Pekao SA, the second consecutive transaction aimed at shoring up its capital position since a new chief executive has taken the helm of the bank.

The bank said the sale will take place via an accelerated bookbuilding addressed only to certain institutional investors and may be closed at any time.

"The placement will enable UniCredit to further strengthen its capital position while retaining a controlling shareholding in the company," the bank said.

UniCredit currently owns 50.1% of Pekao, while the rest is listed on the Warsaw stock exchange.

Based on Tuesday closing market prices, a 10% stake in Pekao is worth about 800 million euros, or about $887 million. A person familiar with the matter said the sale is set to generate around 10 basis points of additional capital for UniCredit.

The transaction follows the sale of a 10% stake in online bank FinecoBank SpA announced on Monday and concluded earlier Tuesday, which the bank said would result in about 7 basis points of additional capital.

UniCredit appointed Jean-Pierre Mustier, who had been in the recent past the bank's investment banking chief, as its new chief executive at the end of June, more than a month after former CEO Federico Ghizzoni agreed to step down.

Uncertainty surrounding the bank's strategy and, more recently, about the name of the new CEO heavily penalized UniCredit's stock, which lost nearly 60% since the beginning of the year. On Tuesday, shares soared 13% on the back of news about the FinecoBank deal.

UniCredit said Monday it also launched an in-depth review of the bank's strategy under Mr. Mustier to reinforce and optimize its capital position. The review will encompass all major areas of the bank and will focus on capital optimization, cost reduction, cross selling and improved risk discipline, the bank said.

Write to Giovanni Legorano at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 12, 2016 13:35 ET (17:35 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.