LOT to take flight on the bourse
At the International Air Transportation Association's annual meeting in Tokyo, Marek Grabarek, president of Poland's troubled national carrier LOT, said: "We are ready for the public issue of new shares," and informed journalists that he expects the new shares to come onto the bourse in Q1 2006.
Currently, 68 percent of LOT's shares belong to the state, with the remainder held by employees and the receiver of bankrupt Swissair. The IPO will only consist of newly issued shares, and the Treasury will retain a 51 percent controlling stake. The president refused to reveal the amount LOT hopes to raise with the share issue, but said that the funds would be used for development and debt repayment.
The company wants to cut costs by zł.500 million by the end of next year, and is having difficulty competing in a market where competition - especially from low-cost carriers - is skyrocketing.
Grabarek also denied rumors that Germany's Lufthansa, which has EUR 3.8 (zł.15.03) billion tucked away for acquisitions, was planning to take over the Polish carrier.
"There are no discussions on the topic of a capital engagement of Lufthansa in LOT, or of LOT in Lufthansa. The discussion only relates to our IPO," he said. (Reuters)
Currently, 68 percent of LOT's shares belong to the state, with the remainder held by employees and the receiver of bankrupt Swissair. The IPO will only consist of newly issued shares, and the Treasury will retain a 51 percent controlling stake. The president refused to reveal the amount LOT hopes to raise with the share issue, but said that the funds would be used for development and debt repayment.
The company wants to cut costs by zł.500 million by the end of next year, and is having difficulty competing in a market where competition - especially from low-cost carriers - is skyrocketing.
Grabarek also denied rumors that Germany's Lufthansa, which has EUR 3.8 (zł.15.03) billion tucked away for acquisitions, was planning to take over the Polish carrier.
"There are no discussions on the topic of a capital engagement of Lufthansa in LOT, or of LOT in Lufthansa. The discussion only relates to our IPO," he said. (Reuters)
