Metalplast completes privatization, gets $20M

"This is one of the first cases where there is a large privatization with international capital and leaving Polish management at the helm," said Jeff Grady of Copernicus Capital Management and representative of the investment funds on the Metalplast's Board of Directors.
The two-year privatization process ended in December 1995 with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development taking a 25% stake, Finnish Rautaruukki OY with 24%, New Europe East Investment Fund with 15% and Poland Investment Fund with 2%. PIF is represented in Poland by Copernicus Capital Management. Two more investment funds are expected to join the ranks of shareholders soon. The State Treasury is the major shareholder, with a 34% stake.
Rautaruukki OY, one of the largest steel companies in Scandinavia, brings technological know-how to the new ownership. Rautaruukki said it would introduce 13 new products, including sound-resistant steel panels for highway barriers, anti-corrosive panels, modular attachments for existing constructions and a system of partition walls.
Metalplast Oborniki President Marek Szczesny said the firm's goal is to be a complex construction company, "building from conception to completion."
The only way to compete in this difficult market is to improve and extend products and services, he added.
Yves Fortin, EBRD resident representative in Poland, said, "This was the first time EBRD took the lead in organizing a consortium of investors." EBRD was also instrumental in securing $1 million in shares for more than 800 workers, he said.
Metalplast Oborniki Sp. z o.o. has almost zl. 1 billion ($417 million) in base capital with monthly turnover averaging zl. 55 million ($23 million). Metalplast Oborniki also has equity in five other companies.