Market starts to shake off TPSA's dampening effect
"I would really think (the market) is driven by international factors," said Tomasz Berent, a country strategist with Paribas in London.
While Telekomunikacja Polska's (TPSA) share issue held the market down during previous weeks, he added, the telephone operator had more of an indirect effect on the WSE last week.
Looking beyond the telecom giant's offering, Bayerische Hypo-und Vereinsbank last Thursday completed its purchase of 4.3 million shares in Bank Przemyslowo-Handlowy (BPH). The stake represents 36.7% of the bank's capital and the German bank said it was determined to become a majority shareholder by fully subscribing to an upcoming capital increase of zl. 400 million ($114 million). This will give BHV a stake of about 54%.
BHV paid zl. 2.07 million for the shares (or zl. 480 per share). The price was at a 140% premium to BPH's closing price last Friday of zl. 199.
BPH will remain Krakow-based and will be an independent subsidiary within Bayerische Hypo-und Vereinsbank. The German bank's current Polish subsidiary Hypo-Bank Polska and Vereinsbank Polska will be included into BPH.
BPH is the eighth-largest Polish bank in terms of assets, which amounted to zl. 9.9 billion ($3 billion) at the end of 1997.
In other market news, the Consumer Protection and Competition Office approved the merger between Zywiec and Brewpole, the holding company for Elbrewery, Warka Brewery and Lelajsk Brewery. Heineken owns a 75% stake in Zywiec and, as a result of this approval, will increase its share in Brewpole from 9.6% to 30%. After the merger, Heineken will hold a majority interest in Zywiec of 50% plus one share.
The merger between Zywiec and Brewpole leaves the brewer with a combined 38.8% market share in Poland, based on individual market share at the end of September.
In comparison, Okocim, the only other publicly traded brewer on the main market, held only an 8.6% market share at the end of last month, a decrease of 0.2% from August. Okocim is 42.34% owned by Carlsberg.
Okocim "needs to make a major strategic decision very soon," said Laura Hopper, an analyst with Societe Generale. "Now the situation is more urgent for them given they're a distant third in the brewing industry in Poland."
"Either they go for making a brewery or they make acquisitions," Hopper said.
While the Zywiec-Brewpole merger could mean bad news for Okocim, analysts see it having several positive effects on the two featured brewers. "I think the merger will be very profitable for Zywiec and Brewpole," said Andrzej Szymanski, an analyst with Erste Securities.
In addition to increased market share, the merged breweries will have a stronger position in negotiating with supermarkets and will now offer a full range of beer products, Szymanski said.
Despite peaked buyer interest in Zywiec, in comparison to Okocim, analysts do not foresee a significant jump in the share price of Zywiec in the near future, though.
Zywiec closed Friday at zl. 465, while Okocim closed at zl. 23.2.
While Telekomunikacja Polska's (TPSA) share issue held the market down during previous weeks, he added, the telephone operator had more of an indirect effect on the WSE last week.
Looking beyond the telecom giant's offering, Bayerische Hypo-und Vereinsbank last Thursday completed its purchase of 4.3 million shares in Bank Przemyslowo-Handlowy (BPH). The stake represents 36.7% of the bank's capital and the German bank said it was determined to become a majority shareholder by fully subscribing to an upcoming capital increase of zl. 400 million ($114 million). This will give BHV a stake of about 54%.
BHV paid zl. 2.07 million for the shares (or zl. 480 per share). The price was at a 140% premium to BPH's closing price last Friday of zl. 199.
BPH will remain Krakow-based and will be an independent subsidiary within Bayerische Hypo-und Vereinsbank. The German bank's current Polish subsidiary Hypo-Bank Polska and Vereinsbank Polska will be included into BPH.
BPH is the eighth-largest Polish bank in terms of assets, which amounted to zl. 9.9 billion ($3 billion) at the end of 1997.
In other market news, the Consumer Protection and Competition Office approved the merger between Zywiec and Brewpole, the holding company for Elbrewery, Warka Brewery and Lelajsk Brewery. Heineken owns a 75% stake in Zywiec and, as a result of this approval, will increase its share in Brewpole from 9.6% to 30%. After the merger, Heineken will hold a majority interest in Zywiec of 50% plus one share.
The merger between Zywiec and Brewpole leaves the brewer with a combined 38.8% market share in Poland, based on individual market share at the end of September.
In comparison, Okocim, the only other publicly traded brewer on the main market, held only an 8.6% market share at the end of last month, a decrease of 0.2% from August. Okocim is 42.34% owned by Carlsberg.
Okocim "needs to make a major strategic decision very soon," said Laura Hopper, an analyst with Societe Generale. "Now the situation is more urgent for them given they're a distant third in the brewing industry in Poland."
"Either they go for making a brewery or they make acquisitions," Hopper said.
While the Zywiec-Brewpole merger could mean bad news for Okocim, analysts see it having several positive effects on the two featured brewers. "I think the merger will be very profitable for Zywiec and Brewpole," said Andrzej Szymanski, an analyst with Erste Securities.
In addition to increased market share, the merged breweries will have a stronger position in negotiating with supermarkets and will now offer a full range of beer products, Szymanski said.
Despite peaked buyer interest in Zywiec, in comparison to Okocim, analysts do not foresee a significant jump in the share price of Zywiec in the near future, though.
Zywiec closed Friday at zl. 465, while Okocim closed at zl. 23.2.
