Members of parliament agree that the report by Robert Rethy, a Hungarian analyst of Unicredit, who on November 21st evaluated Grupa Lotos shares at PLN 0, was written to enable a hostile takeover of Grupa Lotos. They asked the government to protect listed companies. The Financial Supervisory Authorities (KNF) are also investigating the case.
“The ministry of the treasury should break the contract with Unicredit to sell the remaining 4 percent of Pekao. There is time to do it till December 22nd. The shares are worth much less than a year ago, so the state won’t lose PLN 1.2bn”, Dawid Jackiewicz, one of the MPs said.
Krzysztof Zuk, deputy minister of the treasury, said that analyses of services responsible for the state’s security are being conducted. KNF are running investigation as well.
“The report raised doubts from the very beginning. It was published in the morning, so that investors could see it but they had no time to see other analyses for Lotos”, Artur Kluczny from KNF said.
The commission has asked its Hungarian counterpart for data about the analyst and circumstances the recommendation was made.
“We have also asked brokerages for help. We will employ a specialist. Their opinions will let us estimate whether the report was reliable. If not, we will fine the bank with the highest possible amount”, Artur Kluczny stressed.
This is PLN 1m.