French Accor to buy a 20% stake in Orbis say sources

Negotiations over a deal to sell a 20% Treasury stake in state-owned hotel and tourism chain Orbis are drawing to a close. The Treasury is about to clinch a deal with French hotel consortium Accor, says Reuters quoting a source close to the deal. The talks will be finalized by late July. On Tuesday Accor was in talks with Orbis employees and is said to be planning massive layoffs amounting to 8,500 people by 2003. The Treasury holds a 41% stake in Orbis with the rest of the stock remaining in the hands of individual investors. Orbis runs a chain of 56 hotels in 26 Polish cities. The company made zl. 387.9 million in sales after six months this year, up 12.1% compared with the same period last year. However the company's shares have been faltering recently, skirting zl. 10 a share over last three months. The price now stands at zl. 31. (Rzeczpospolita, page B3) P.S.