News Parkiet

Chemicals

Unimil announces plans

to expand into China

Shares of Unimil S.A., Europe?s biggest condom manufacturer, rose 16.6 percent yesterday following the announcement that the company plans to enter China and boost sales in Germany. Unimil, which bought out its German parent Condomi AG last year after it has run into financial difficulties, also said it would pay a much higher dividend than this year?s PLN 0.5 a share.

Consulting services

DGA up on new training contract

Shares of DGA Doradztwo Gospodarcze, a Poznań-based training company, jumped as much as 10.6 percent yesterday, closing at 28.2 zloty on news of a two-year contract with a government agency. DGA said in a statement it was awarded a 22-million zloty contract to train tourism industry staff by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, a government agency set up to promote small business. The deal represents over half of DGA?s annual sales in recent years.

Privatization funds

Manchester Securities makes

a bid for Octava

Manchester Securities Corporation, a New York-based private equity firm made a friendly takeover bid for a stake in NFI Octava, a former privatization fund turned into real estate company. MSC said it would buy up to 8 million shares of NFI Octava, paying 8.3 zloty a share, a slight discount from Wednesday?s closing price. The stake represents over 66 percent of Octava?s outstanding equity. The firm, which is controlled by Elliott Associates private equity group, said it made the bid to ?ensure the stability of NFI?s investment project?, Octava?s newest shopping mall under construction in Wroclaw.