News Parkiet

Civil engineering

PRInż's asset-stripping warning

Operating subsidiaries of PRInż road-building group say private investor Zbigniew Opach is trying to take control of their companies for a fraction of their true value, escalating a dispute between company's shareholders and creditors. Mr. Opach, who controls PRInż through its publicly traded parent Mostostal Zabrze, has reportedly pushed for equity increase at several key PRInż subsidiaries, effectively taking over those companies. PRInż's biggest creditor, Bank Millennium, warned new management, appointed just days ago by Mr. Opach, to back off, threatening legal action.

Banking

BRE may lose PLN 50 million on pension

fund sale

Commerzbank unit BRE Bank may lose another 50 million zloty on the sale of PTE Skarbiec, its private pension fund, analysts say. The bank has already written off a third of its 505 million zloty investment in Skarbiec.

Information technology

PC Guard doubles on IPO

Tiny software maker PC Guard nearly doubled its market value on the first day of trading yesterday as its rights surged a whopping 100 percent to as much as 12 zloty a share. PC Guard sold half a million shares at 6 zloty each to a group of 62 retail investors in an IPO at the end of September. Actual shares, which also begun trading Wednesday, rose 60 percent to 9.6 zloty.

PC Guard, which makes ERP systems for mid-sized manufacturing-type companies and public administration, reported just 2.6 million zloty in sales last year. Earnings totaled 0.2 million zloty.

Insurance

Signal Iduna boosts Polish sales

German insurer Signal Iduna says its travel insurance unit, Signal Iduna Polska TU is expecting premiums of 35 to 40 million zloty this year, up from its original estimate of PLN 32 million. Life insurer Signal Iduna Życie Polska TU is lagging behind, with premiums estimated at 6.5 to 7 million zloty vs. its original estimate of PLN 9 million.