Grupa Lotos subscription gets lukewarm reception

According to analysts, the closure of the book-building should be followed by a reduction, but the offer overall did not stir as much attention as was previously expected. The investor caution could be partly explained by the fear of an uncontrolled sale of employee shares, which usually drags the share price down. Lotos is particularly vulnerable to such a fate, as employees hold a 15% stake in the company worth zł.11.5 million. Other factors may have been the poor results of the group in Q1 2005 as well as the lack of a discount rate. Small investors had 8.8 million shares at their disposal. The final price will be quoted on May 30 and the analysts expect it to rest at the level of zł.27. After the debut the state will retain the controlling 51% stake in the group. "The entry of a branch investor is not likely to occur sooner than in two or three years," comments Grupa Lotos president, Paweł Olechnowicz. (Puls Biznesu pp.1,11, Parkiet p.5) M.G.