News Parkiet

Information Technology

Softbank CEO leaves his company

Aleksander Lesz, the founder of Softbank IT services is leaving as CEO after fifteen years at the company, several independent sources told PARKIET yesterday.

Aleksander Lesz will be succeeded by Krzysztof Korba, the head of Unisys Polska. Korba, who used to work for ICL, Softbank?s major shareholder in late 1990?s is expected to start implementing new strategy for the troubled company. The new CEO was recruited for the job by Prokom Software, which took over Softbank two years ago after a string of failed investments in various Internet ventures.

Mr. Lesz still owns about 5 percent of Softbank shares, now worth approximately 32 million zloty ($8.6 million). He used to own about a third of the company.

Construction

Atlantis turns to property development

Publicly traded shell company Atlantis S.A. is almost finished with its restructuring program and is looking for a buyer interested in the firm?s public status. Former maker of wood panels and other construction materials is in talks with Warsaw property developer WAN over possible takeover.

The company has already shut down all of its production plants in Poland and in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.

As of last September, Atlantis had outstanding debts of some 6.2 million zloty. The firm says it has successfully negotiated new debt repayments terms with DZ Bank, its largest creditor. Atlantis posted 9-million zloty loss for nine months of the year 2003. However, its CEO Jan Chrostowski says it will show operating profits for the whole year thanks to income from several industrial properties.

Utilities

Kogeneracja profitable in 2003,

management says

Wroclaw municipal utility Kogeneracja S.A. has earned approximately 12 million zloty last year, the company said in a public statement to investors yesterday. Preliminary data of Electricite de France subsidiary shows the firm earned over 23 million zloty in the fourth quarter alone, reversing steep losses in the previous quarters. In 2002 Kogeneracja lost over 13 million zloty.

Mining

Kopex wins new contracts,

sells GBG stake

State-owned Kopex mining construction group has signed new contracts to provide mining services on behalf of Germany?s Deutsche Steinkohle. Both contracts have a combined value of PLN 40 million ($11 million). Kopex itself has annual sales of more than 200 million zloty,

In a separate development, Kopex is expected to sell 10.3 percent stake in GBG, a regional bank from Silesia today. Sources close to the transaction say Katowice-based firm will receive close to 40 million zloty for these assets. Kopex itself has market capitalization of just over 100 million zloty.

Equity markets

Plast-Box plans February IPO

Polish SEC has approved IPO plans of Plast-Box plastics maker on Tuesday. The firm said earlier it wants to raise 14 million zloty in an IPO scheduled for the beginning of February.

Plast-Box makes plastic buckets, boxes and similar products.