Dialog takeover tops Netia's list of priorities this year

Netia, the country’s largest alternative fixed-line telecoms operator, has announced that it sees the takeover of Telefonia Dialog, a rival independent operator owned by copper giant KGHM, as its top priority this year. Netia president Wojciech Mądalski said the company would prefer to pay cash for Dialog and added that Netia could raise up to zł.1 billion if favorable takeover opportunities arise. Mądalski also said his company is interested in bidding for the available UMTS mobile telecoms frequencies, but not necessarily for the GSM frequencies, which are also going to be put up for sale by the Telecommunications and Post Regulatory Office (URTiP). He added that this would be "a very serious financial challenge," which Netia could not undertake alone, although it could find a foreign partner to help it. (Puls Biznesu, p. 6; Parkiet, p. 5) T.J.