News Parkiet

Banking

UniCredito?s bid for BPH waiting

for regulatory clearance

Polish SEC has yet to approve UniCredito Italiano?s bid for Bank BPH and the subsequent merger with Bank Pekao, its major operating unit in Poland. Sources familiar with the situation claim that banking and stock market officials have asked UniCredito to move its regional headquarters for Central and Eastern Europe from Vienna to Warsaw before the bid wins SEC approval.

Corporate governance

4Media no longer public

Bankrupt newspaper and Internet publisher 4Media lost its status as a public company yesterday after Polish SEC decided to de-register the company citing repeated violations of stock exchange disclosure rules. Shares of 4Media were suspended about two years ago, but the SEC waited until Tuesday after filing a class action suit against two of 4Media?s managers on behalf of former shareholders.

Telecommunications

Internet Group hires advisor

to help sell the company

Internet Group, a Warsaw-based Voice-over-IP phone carrier said it has hired a consulting firm to help find a partner in an attempt to survive pricing wars and growing competition from bigger players. Publicly traded company said it expects FAS Polska to have a short list of potential investors by early March 2006.

Corporate governance

Strzelec fined after missing

earnings target

Former regional brewery Sagittarius-Strzelec must pay a 400 000 zloty fine because it didn?t warn investors about the huge loss after it decided to write off part of its business, Polish SEC said yesterday. Strzelec, which now plans to turn into a bottling plant after selling its two breweries to Denmark?s Faxe group, said it expects profits of some 2.2 million zloty last year. The company ended up with a loss of more than 88 million zloty ($26.7 million). Strzelec CEO and co-founder Adam Brodowski said the company would appeal SEC verdict.