Portuguese determined to get BCR

The investors interested in BCR had barely got to see the bank”s data room and Portuguese Millennium Banco Comercial has already announced it will submit a bid for the takeover of the controlling interests in the largest Romanian bank. Banco Comercial Portugues (BCP), whose assets stand at 71.8bn euros, is the ninth bank of the ten whose letters of intent were accepted by BCR”s privatisation committee. The bank”s executive chairman Teixera Pinto stated BCR was regarded as being of strategic interest and that Millennium would prefer to get sole control over the largest bank in Romania. The Millennium Bank made 302.9 million-euro profit in the first half of this year, slightly less than what analysts were expecting. The shareholders of the bank include Banca Intesa, another investor that wants access to BCR”s data room, which is, however, larger than BCP, due to its 274.5bn-euro assets. Another BCP shareholder is Caixa Geral de Depositors Group, Portugal”s leading financial group, along with Eureko insurance group. The three hold 70.5% in BCP together, the most important Portuguese bank listed on the stock exchange. ZF