Acron might sell Azoty stake ‘for a good price’

Russian chemical firm Acron might consider selling its almost stake in the Polish state-controlled, WSE-listed chemical group Azoty if it was presented with a “good enough” offer, head of Acron's supervisory board Aleksander Popov said, as quoted by the press agency Tass, adding that the company is currently not talking with anyone regarding the possible sale. “We have a minority stake, we do not have a seat on the supervisory board, but we follow what's going on in the company. Recently, it has been posting decent results, a lot of investment in growth. There are some issues that we are not satisfied with, but I think that eventually everything will settle and the dividends paid by Azoty will be higher,” he explained. In September Azoty deputy CEO Witold Szczypiński said Azoty believed the Polish investment vehicle PFR might consider buying Acron's stake in Azoty if such an opportunity presented itself. Acron, through its subsidiaries, controls 19.47 percent of Grupa Azoty. In the past, it tried to unsuccessfully increase it, but its attempts, at times considered a hostile takeover were stopped by the Polish government, who sees the company as of “strategic importance” to Polish economy. Back in 2016, it sold a small stake, raising questions over its longer-term plans. Acron stake is valued at some PLN 1.5 billion.