Locked, loaded and aimed at the WSE

Bumar Group, Poland's defense industry giant, has published a strategy which calls for significant restructuring and a debut on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The strategy will be carried out in several stages over the 2008-2011 period.

The first stage, which will be implemented by the end of the year, will see a thorough restructuring of the capital group. Four divisions will arise from the process, based on the constituent companies' activity - Bumar-Żołnierz, Bumar-Ląd, Bumar-Amunicja and Bumar-Elektronika. Two further divisions, Bumar-Marynarka and Bumar-Lotnictwo, will be introduced by the end of 2010.

Also by the end of 2010, Bumar plans to get rid of a number of non-core assets. According to Puls Biznesu, these include tractor-manufacturer Ursus and heavy-construction-machinery producer Fadroma.

After the capital group has cleaned up its corporate structure, it intends to simplify its ownership structure, which currently involves Bumar, the State Treasury and the Industrial Development Agency. This will be undertaken as part of its preparations for listing on the Warsaw bourse.

In its IPO, planned for 2011-2012, Bumar will offer investors minority shares in the capital group, with the state retaining its majority stake. Speaking withRzeczpospolita, group president Edward Nowak expressed his hope that listing on the WSE would force the implementation of modern management techniques.

The Bumar capital group currently comprises 22 different state firms specializing in the manufacture and export of munitions, radar components, rockets, armor and armored vehicles, and other military equipment. Last year, the group generated zł.2.8 billion in revenues and the total value of Polish-army contracts fulfilled by Bumar amounted to zł.1.2 billion.