Polish State Treasurer Picks Lehman

Lehman's diplomatic skills nabbed a new client last week. Poland's state treasury hired Lehman to intercede in its conflict with Dutch investor Eureko. In brief, Eureko had sought to add to its position in PZU, Poland's highly profitable insurer. The extra shares would have given the Dutch group majority control. Poland reneged on an earlier promise and nixed the deal. Now Eureko is seeking 35.6 billion zlotys in damages and applying pressure by blocking the public floatation of PZU. Lehman has spent time in both Poland and Holland and is credited with resolving the Dutch-German "whiff of roses" dispute in 1999, in which rival companies competed for copyright ownership of the phrase in advertisements for perfume. Lehman also worked on the multionational commission investigating the appearance of American verse in Warsaw and Rome.