News Parkiet

Privatization

Retail investors to pay cash for PKO BP

Individual investors signing up for shares of PKO BP sold thorough the bank?s retail outlets will have to line up to pay cash when the sale begins on October 7, sources at the bank told PARKIET yesterday. Polish government has agreed to give various incentives to people who buy PKO BP as part of the so-called ?privatization tranche?, including a guarantee that their orders will be filled even if the IPO is oversubscribed. Those who keep PKO BP for a year will receive one extra share for every 20 shares they own. However, total value of shares allocated in this manner on a first-come, first serve basis, will be limited to 720 million zloty.

Information Technology

Comp Rzeszów shares rise 29.8 percent

on IPO

Shares of Comp Rzeszów software house rose 29.8 percent on their first day of trading, closing at 122 zloty on Monday as the company concluded its 187 million zloty ($52 million) Initial Public Offering. Rzeszów-based company, which specializes in backoffice software for banking industry was up 28 zloty from its IPO in very heavy trading. The offering of 1,995 million shares priced at 94 zloty each was heavily oversubscribed, with retail investors signing up for more than 800.000 shares. Comp Rzeszów has cut its retail allocation to just 140.000 shares because of the demand from local institutions.

?I know that retail investors are unhappy because we?ve cut their allocation. However, I?m convinced the solution we have chosen will be beneficial for Comp?, company founder and CEO Adam Góral said yesterday. Institutional investors, including former rival Softbank S.A., bought about 1.85 million shares. Proceeds from the IPO, some 42 million zloty in total, will be used to finance friendly takeover of Asset Soft, a Slovak software.

Telecommunications

ATM cuts executive compensation before

market debut

ATM SA data carrier has agreed to terminate special compensation packages of several senior managers and board members before today?s debut on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in an attempt to improve transparency. The company, which completed 25-million zloty IPO earlier this month, paid between 25.000 and 505.000 zloty for consulting and other management-related services. Executive board members will retain their pay, but from now on they will be paid as part of regular salaries.

Food processing

Pozmeat files for bankruptcy

Pozmeat S.A., a mid-sized meat processing company from Wielkopolska, has filed for bankruptcy and liquidation sale of its assets yesterday after years of losses and mismanagement. Minority shareholders of Poznań-based firm say they will demand 100 million zloty in compensation from BRE Bank, a major shareholder and creditor of Pozmeat. The group charges BRE with asset-stripping and the failure of Pozmeat? restructuring strategy. BRE calls the accusations ?groundless;

Publicly traded Pozmeat owes creditors about 100 million zloty ($27.8 million).

Personal savings

Poland to sell new retirement bonds

Poland is launching new, ten-year retail bonds designed for the owners of tax-exempt IKE individual retirement accounts. Starting October, the Finance Ministry plans to offer 100 million zloty worth of inflation-linked bonds each month, which have a first-year yield of 7.1 percent.

Steel industry

Stalexport postpones new stock sale until

next yearStalexport steel trading group has decided to postpone planned secondary offering until early next year, chief executive Emil Wąsacz told PARKIET recently. It needs more time to reduce its financial exposure to Walcownia Rur Jedność, a huge, unfinished steel pipe-making plant tottering on the verge of bankruptcy. Several years ago Stalexport has agreed to guarantee WRJ debts of up to 304 million zloty. Now, Mr. Wąsacz says, his company is standing by and waiting to see who buys WRJ. Wąsacz, a former Privatization Minister, says Stalexport might end up paying between 50 and 190 million zloty. Whatever the exact figure, Stalexport won?t go bankrupt because of WRJ debt payment, Wąsacz added to pacify shareholders. Stalexport itself had to ask for protection from creditors two years ago and is now controlled by former creditors.