Much speculation on Warta share issue ahead of meeting

French insurance giant AXA is close to acquiring a stake in Poland's second largest insurer Warta S.A., controlled by Kulczyk Holding. Kulczyk has made several bids for a stake in Warta, but AXA is said to be the leader of the pack, which is thought to include Allianz of Germany and the American International Group (AIG). A decision about a new share issue will be made at Warta's shareholders' meeting on August 23, part of which could be directed at the new investor. Kulczyk owns a 71.9% stake in Warta and plans to sell 25% to a new investor for around zl. 133 per share. However, a foreign investor will likely opt for a strategic stake and would then be willing to pay more for each share. An additional incentive for a potential investor is the fact that after it acquires a 50% stake in the PTE DOM pension fund from Citibank, Warta will become the sole owner of the fund. (Puls Biznesu, page 8) T.J.