TPSA: PLN20
According to as yet unconfirmed information, the treasury could be about to raise PLN2.8bn from the sale of a ten percent holding in TPSA.
Strangely enough that is exactly half of what the consortium of France Telecom and the Polish Kulczyk Holding negotiated as an option last year when they took a 35 percent stake in the former telecoms monopoly. Nonetheless this offer is a good fifty percent over the price at which TPSA is currently being traded on the Warsaw bourse where its price has collapsed over recent months due to fears of unwanted shares swamping the market.
It would seem that the deal is virtually done. Yesterday treasury minister Aldona Kamela-Sowińska had to put her mark of approval on the proposed transaction which will be almost certainly PLN20 although a difference of PLN1 per share is also possible.
If it proves to be correct that the government has accepted the conditions of the transaction then the deal could be signed today.
Michał Marczak, analyst at DI BRE investment bank considers this to be a good price given the current state of telecoms companies around the world and the price at which TPSA is being traded on the stock market.
Aldona Kamela-Sowińska said on 3 August that she was sure that another tranche of TPSA would be privatised during her period of office. On 24 September she will be queuing up to sign on at the Job Centre, unless a miracle occurs the like of which has not happened since Moses parted the sea and the SLD does not win the election.
The sale price is just one of the elements of the deal. On 28 June shareholders of TPSA voted to use all of last year's profit as reserves and not issue a dividend. The treasury, desperate to raise cash from any source possible in order to fill the gaping budget deficit, wanted PLN448m to be used to pay dividends which would put PLN156m in state coffers. It did not get its way. A source close to the new proposed transaction said that the consortium would be prepared to reconsider the question of a dividend in the light of events.