Czech watchdog OKs Komercni buy of Modra Pyramida

PRAGUE, Sept 19 (Reuters) - The Czech anti-trust watchdog has cleared the 144 million euros ($182.2 million) takeover of Modra Pyramida, the third-largest Czech building society, by lender Komercni Banka <BKOMsp.PR>, the bureau said on Tuesday.

"The merger will not lead to a reduction in the level of competitive environment on the building savings market," the anti-monopoly bureau (UOHS) said in a statement.

Komercni, a unit of France's Societe Generale, agreed earlier this month buy the 60 percent stake in Modra Pyramida that it did not already own.

Komercni will buy 50 percent from Germany's Postbank <DPBGn.DE> and an additional 10 percent from Czech insurer Ceska Pojistovna, part of closely held Czech financial group PPF, for the same price per share.

The takeover would help Komercni expand in its home market, particularly by cross-selling financial products to Modra Pyramida's nearly 1 million clients, the bank has said.

Komercni's 515 billion crowns ($22.92 billion) in consolidated assets at end-2005 makes it the third-largest commercial bank in the country of 10 million people. ((Reporting by Marek Petrus, editing by Quentin Bryar; Reuters Messaging: rm://marek.petrus.reuters.com@reuters.net; e-mail: prague.newsroom@reuters.com or marek.petrus@reuters.com; Tel: +420 224 190 477)) For main central European company news, double click on [.CEE] E.Europe hot stocks [HOT-EEU] Main E.Europe news [TOP/EAST] Related stories on [HU] [PL] [CZ] [EEU-STX] [EEU-RES] [EEU-E] For real-time index quotes, double click in brackets: Warsaw WIG20 <.WIG20> Budapest BUX <.BUX> Prague PX50 <.PX50> ($1=.7903 Euro) ($1=22.47 Czech Crown)

Keywords: FINANCIAL CZECH KOMERCNI