Erste Group plans to launch a voluntary cash tender for up to another 26% of Erste Bank Polska, building on the 49% holding acquired in January. The offer price will be about PLN713 per share. It aims to lift ownership above 50% but not beyond 75%, preserving at least 25% of the Polish bank in free float.
The planned transaction would deepen Erste's exposure to one of its core Central and Eastern European markets. The group acquired its existing 49% holding when the Polish business still carried the Santander Bank Polska name. That purchase was completed in January 2026 and the institution has since adopted the Erste Bank Polska brand.
OFFER CONDITIONS AND TIMING
The tender will seek between roughly 1% and 26% of the bank's share capital. A minimum acceptance condition requires Erste's existing holding and tendered shares to represent at least 50% of capital and voting rights. The offer also requires commitments preserving a 25% free float and approval from the Polish Financial Supervision Authority to cross the 50% threshold, unless that approval arrives before launch.
Erste expects to open the offer at the start of November for a 30-day subscription period, subject to extension under Polish rules. Completion and settlement are anticipated in December. The price equals the three-month volume-weighted average share price before 28 September, the expected date of Erste's notification to the Polish regulator; on preliminary data, Erste put this at about PLN713 when it announced its plan on 25 September.
CAPITAL AND OWNERSHIP LIMITS
The indicative price represents a 22.1% premium to the PLN584 reference price attached to Erste's May 2025 announcement of the original 49% acquisition. Erste intends to fund the purchase entirely from internal resources and is targeting a post-offer common equity tier one ratio above 14.25%. It expects the larger holding to be accretive to earnings per share from 2027.
The outcome will depend on shareholder participation, free-float commitments and regulatory clearance. If tenders exceed the 26% ceiling and the free-float condition is not satisfied, Erste said it did not intend to buy shares in the tender and would remain a 49% shareholder. The next formal milestones are the Polish regulator's approval, the free-float commitments and the expected November launch.