Deutsche Bank approves of Vivendi's stake in Elektrim

Deutsche Bank has upgraded its rating for telecoms-and-power conglomerate Elektrim from "neutral" to "strong buy" and increased the company's share price target from zl. 56 to zl. 70. Deutsche Bank said it decided to raise Elektrim's rating following the purchase last week by Vivendi of a 4.9% stake in Elektrim. The bank believes the deal could either lead to Vivendi's defensive acquisition of a 10% to 15% stake, which could act as a blocking minority, or to the offensive acquisition of a 20% to 49% controlling stake. However, Vivendi is more likely to buy a 20% to 30% stake say Deutsche Bank' s analysts. Elektrim's share-price, which was fixed at zl. 52.8 on Monday, dropped by 0.4 % during continuous trading, but is still up by 13.1 % since July 12. It has been the most actively traded stock over the last two weeks. Vivendi's spokeswoman Fransoise Dassonville says that by acquiring a stake in Elektrim, Vivendi has made an investment in strengthening its presence in the Polish telecoms-market. However, she declined to disclose Vivendi's future plans and strategy concerning Elektrim. (Prawo i Gospodarka, page 13) (Reuters) P.S.