News Parkiet

Equity market

WIG climbs to new high

All-share WIG index rose to a new all-time high yesterday, closing at 30 239 points after a ten-week rally that begun in mid-May. The rally lifted four out of five stocks of the more than 200 companies that were actually traded on May 16. More than 40 percent of those stocks outperformed WIG?s 18 percent gain.

Petrochemicals

Minority shareholders push for board changes at Unipetrol

Minority shareholders of Czech oil company Unipetrol say they?ll try to oust representatives of PKN Orlen after the Polish refinery lost its right to vote because it didn?t make an offer to buy out other shareholders. Orlen, which has a 63 percent stake in Unipetrol, initially offered to buy all outstanding shares of Unipetrol and its two subsidiaries at well below market prices, but the offer was rejected by Czech SEC. Orlen said it would seek SEC permission to recover its voting rights at Unipetrol.

Food industry

Voluntary layoffs at Wyborowa

Premium vodka maker Wyborowa SA is offering an additional severance payment to employees who take up its offer to quit the company before August 12 deadline as part of a voluntary layoffs program. Part of Pernod Ricard group, Wyborowa said it would either fire 120 workers or cut wages across the board by as much as 60 percent because its payroll expenses were too high. One senior executive at Wyborowa says those who leave on their own will receive severance package equal to 15 times their monthly wages. Workers at Wyborowa are paid 7000 zloty before taxes, on average.

Pharmaceuticals

Jelfa to talk to potential suitors

Polish pharmaceutical company Jelfa SA, a major producer of lotions and generic drugs, says it wants to talk to six potential bidders for the company?s 47.5 percent stake now held by PZU insurance group, Treasury and government-controlled Industrial Restructuring Agency. Jelfa, whose shares are listed on the WSE, says it wants to know what to expect from potential new shareholders. The six bidders include Latvia?s Grindex, AB Sanitas from the neighboring Lithuania, Ivax, itself an acquisition target in a friendly takeover by Israeli Teva, Lupin from India and two private equity funds - Enterprise Investors and Advent International.

Power industry

PEP to build new plant in Świecie

Industrial outsourcing company Polish Energy Partners hired Alstom Power to build a 38.6-million zloty, 33-megawatt plant at Mondi Packaging Paper packaging plant in Świecie in northwestern Poland. PEP said earlier the project would cost approximately 40 million zloty. New heat and power generating plant is expected to be ready by March 2007.

Separately, sources at PEP said another major power industry outsourcing project, at Steti paper mill in the Czech Republic, failed when its prospective client changed its business strategy.