A solid investment

Black Rock Management Limited, a global leader in institutional and individual investments markets, has purchased 4,611,530 shares of IDMSA, giving the firm 5.08 percent of votes at the Polish brokerage's annual general meeting. This is the third large company to join IDMSA's shareholder structure, after the Deutsche Bank Group and PKO TFI.

"Through this purchase [Black Rock] manifested its acceptance of our company's strategy," said IDMSA's deputy president, Rafał Abratański. In his view, the transaction confirms the Polish economy's health and stability. Marek Dietl, an economic expert from the Sobieski Institute, confirms this view. "There is a saying that the 'old' EU gives money, the 'new' EU gives ideas," he says, pointing to a number of small and dynamic local firms, from a variety of industries, that are attracting international investors.

Dietl stresses that the development of the stock market and appearance of international players in Poland is the key to the increasing quality of stock- and brokerage-related services. "Although the market is growing stronger, the services are still not very sophisticated," says Dietl.

"The increasing number of companies coming here will lead to a reduction in costs, which will be beneficial for both the players and the investors," he adds, noting that Black Rock's purchase gives IDMSA access to its know-how.

Will Black Rock continue investing in Poland? "If they weren't going to, they would have bought less than five percent of our shares," suggests Abratański.