Polsat Plus Group denies report on possible Ukrainian bank acquisition

Polish free and pay TV and telecom operator Polsat Plus Group has denied reports that it is interested in acquiring Ukrainian bank Sense Bank from its sanctioned Russian owners.

Forbes’ Ukrainian edition had reported that Polsat Plus was interested in acquiring the bank, one of the largest commercial financial institutions in the country, from sanctioned Russian oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven and associates.

Forbes reported that Polish tycoon Zygmunt Solorz’s media and telcom group was interested in acquiring the bank, formerly known as Alfa-Bank, citing two unnamed sources close to the negotiations, following a statement by the bank’s authorized representative, Simeon Dyankov, about contacts with an unnamed Polish investor.

The report prompted Polsat Plus Group to issue a statement denying it.

“Neither Polsat Plus Group nor any of the Polsat Plus Group companies have anything to do with the issue of the investment in Sense Bank,” it said.

Any acquisition would be complicated by sanctions imposed on the bank’s Russian owners. Sense Bank had indicated to Forbes that any proceeds from the sale would not end up in the hands of the sanctioned individuals.

The Ukrainian authorities have indicated that nationalization of the bank is a possibility, and Fridman last year reportedly proposed a transfer of the bank to the Ukrainian state via the National Bank of Ukraine.