Asseco to merge with Prokom

IT firm Asseco has confirmed rumors that it is planning to purchase a controlling stake in Prokom Software, its largest shareholder. Other Asseco shareholders, however, have expressed strong opposition to the price offered for Prokom's stock.

A statement issued last week by Asseco said, "Should Prokom Investments and Mr. Ryszard Krauze accept the offer, the management of Asseco will propose to the shareholders a merger of Asseco and Prokom Software." Since Asseco's merger with Softbank earlier this year, Prokom has owned a 25.5-percent stake in the firm.

Investors' initial response to the news was mixed, with Asseco's stock plunging around 12 percent and Prokom's share price gaining up to 10 percent on Wednesday last week. Asseco is offering zł.700 million for a 23.7-percent stake in Prokom, valuing the latter firm's shares at zł.200 each, which some investors see as too high.

Prokom's share price has fallen sharply since August, when Polish prosecutors issued a warrant to detain businessman Ryszard Krauze - who controls Prokom, as well as other firms such as Bioton and Petrolinvest - in relation to a corruption investigation. Last week Prokom's stock hovered around the zł.130 mark.

"Asseco is in the middle of multiple acquisitions, and now it will be additionally saddled with Prokom, which could slow its growth," said BZ WBK analyst Paweł Puchalski. "This is better news for Prokom shareholders," he added. Asseco CEO Adam Góral, however, said that the merger of the two companies would be beneficial and that the price the firm had offered Prokom was still subject to negotiation.

Wiesław Walendziak, deputy president of Prokom Investments, told daily Parkiet that the planned merger signals investor Ryszard Krauze's withdrawal from the IT sector. (Reuters)