Centertel controversy to push TP SA president out
Sources close to FT say the company is stepping up its efforts to close the purchase of an additional four percent of TP SA from the State Treasury as a prelude to the integration of all its mobile telephony assets under its European-wide Orange brand. The deal would give FT's consortium with Kulczyk Holding a majority stake in TP SA, as well as complete control over Centertel, the country's third-largest mobile operator.
Tomasz Bieńkiewicz, an analyst at BOŚ brokerage, says that changes to Centertel's ownership structure would be sure to follow, adding, "I'm sure President Józefiak would be opposed to that. So a change at the top of TP SA seems the logical outcome."
Centertel is 66 percent owned by TP SA with FT controlling the remaining 34 percent. As a majority shareholder in TP SA, FT could finally go through with its plans to integrate its mobile telephony assets into the Orange brand, likely to also include changes in Centertel's ownership structure. President Marek Józefiak is thought likely to resist such a change, which could result in his resignation, once the State Treasury deal is concluded, sources claim.
President Józefiak was not available for comment last week, as TP SA's spokesperson said, "the president is not with us at the moment." She added she was not authorized to say whether the president was away on holiday or on business.
FT did not return repeated phone and e-mail requests for comment. Kulczyk Holding, which together with FT makes up the consortium seeking control of TP SA, was also unavailable for comment on Friday.
An Orange re-brand for Centertel's Idea network has been widely anticipated ever since France Telecom announced its strategy of creating a single global brand back in 2001. The move was initially expected in 2002, but was put off due to the costs of such an operation.
Talks with the State Treasury, which would allow FT to push through changes in Centertel's ownership structure, "have been going on for months and every other week we are told they will be over within days," BOŚ's Bieńkiewicz says. He adds, however, that now is the logical time to press ahead with the talks as FT's mountain of debt, one of the obstacles to the deal going through, has been removed. The company's results for 2003, released last week, show FT returning to profitability after two years in the red and reducing its debt to around zł.145 billion (€30 billion), down from more than zł.340 billion (€70 billion) at the end of 2002. That could mean that FT has some ready cash available to close the deal fairly rapidly.
The Treasury's press office told us that no decision exists as to when the deal will be closed but, "we want it concluded by the end of March." That date may well prove the end of Marek Józefiak's term at the helm of the national telecom operator.
Tomasz Bieńkiewicz, an analyst at BOŚ brokerage, says that changes to Centertel's ownership structure would be sure to follow, adding, "I'm sure President Józefiak would be opposed to that. So a change at the top of TP SA seems the logical outcome."
Centertel is 66 percent owned by TP SA with FT controlling the remaining 34 percent. As a majority shareholder in TP SA, FT could finally go through with its plans to integrate its mobile telephony assets into the Orange brand, likely to also include changes in Centertel's ownership structure. President Marek Józefiak is thought likely to resist such a change, which could result in his resignation, once the State Treasury deal is concluded, sources claim.
President Józefiak was not available for comment last week, as TP SA's spokesperson said, "the president is not with us at the moment." She added she was not authorized to say whether the president was away on holiday or on business.
FT did not return repeated phone and e-mail requests for comment. Kulczyk Holding, which together with FT makes up the consortium seeking control of TP SA, was also unavailable for comment on Friday.
An Orange re-brand for Centertel's Idea network has been widely anticipated ever since France Telecom announced its strategy of creating a single global brand back in 2001. The move was initially expected in 2002, but was put off due to the costs of such an operation.
Talks with the State Treasury, which would allow FT to push through changes in Centertel's ownership structure, "have been going on for months and every other week we are told they will be over within days," BOŚ's Bieńkiewicz says. He adds, however, that now is the logical time to press ahead with the talks as FT's mountain of debt, one of the obstacles to the deal going through, has been removed. The company's results for 2003, released last week, show FT returning to profitability after two years in the red and reducing its debt to around zł.145 billion (€30 billion), down from more than zł.340 billion (€70 billion) at the end of 2002. That could mean that FT has some ready cash available to close the deal fairly rapidly.
The Treasury's press office told us that no decision exists as to when the deal will be closed but, "we want it concluded by the end of March." That date may well prove the end of Marek Józefiak's term at the helm of the national telecom operator.
