Chopin Vodka producer Polmos Siedlce to be bought out by Peacock

Vodka producer Polmos Siedlce, part of the national Polmos group of distillers and makers of the famous Chopin brand of vodka, is soon to have a change of owner, following a privatization agreement for the manufacturer to be signed by the Treasury Ministry before the end of the summer. According to unnamed sources cited in Prawo i Gospodarka, 51% to 70% of company shares are to be bought by Peacock, belonging to the American company Phillips Millenium, in which one of the shareholders is Tadeusz Dorda - present chairman of another Polmos company, Polmos Zyrardow. Polmos Siedlce has the legal rights for the production of the famous luxury vodka brand "Chopin" which, together with "Belvedere" vodka - a Polmos Zyrardow product - is a hit on the American market. The brand also has a chance to enter the Far East market as "Chopin" is to be stocked by the international retail chain LVMH. This will allow Polmos Siedlce to increase its export income which in the first half of 2002 reached $1.7 million. The company estimates that at the end of the year income will exceed $3.5 million. Polmos Siedlce employs over 200, and sells its products through 13 company-owned retail outlets as well as supplying wholesalers and hypermarkets. In the first 6 months of the year, Polmos Siedlce sold 359 thousand hectoliters of product, 34% more than last year. (Prawo i Gospodarka, p. 5) A.L.