BRE to buy Elektrim bonds to the tune of euro 100m?

According to unofficial reports in Puls Biznesu, BRE Bank is to become a major stakeholder in Elektrim and will buy over 20% of its bonds as a result of negotiations between the two companies. The convertible bonds, worth euro 100 million, will be purchased by BRE Bank from Elektrim's bondholders, who are owed a total of euro 480 million by the power and communications giant. In mid-May Elektrim signed an agreement with half of its bondholders, and now there is a chance the others will follow suit. The bond issue will replace BRE's previous strategy of granting the company a loan to cover its debts. "This is good news for Elektrim. The increasing engagement of BRE Bank suggests that the chances for Elektrim's recovery are high," said Radoslaw Solan, an analyst at BDM PKO. However, the bondholders emphasize that this news is merely one element of an agreement which has not yet been signed. The bonds purchased by BRE Bank may be traded on the secondary market and the bank expects to sell a number of them. The bonds will be guaranteed by the shares of Elektrim Telekomunikacja (ET), which owns a 51% stake in Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa (PTC), the country's biggest telecom operator. (Puls Biznesu, p. 7; Prawo i Gospodarka, p. 1) P.W.