Netia future in doubt after bond buy-back plan fails

Telecoms operator Netia announced on Saturday that its bond buy-back offer w as a failure. According to a Netia statement, the minimal conditions of the tender were not met. The offer required at least 50% of each bond to be tend ered and at least 65% of the aggregate principal at maturity of all the bond s being tendered. The failure of the buy-back scheme casts a shadow over Net ia's future. "We currently plan to discuss with Netia bondholders the condit ions for restructuring our long-term debt, but because of obvious reasons we cannot guarantee a positive result of these talks," said Kjell-Ove Blom, Net ia's interim chief executive. "Netia's failure to convince the bondholders t o sell their bonds pushes the firm closer towards financial collapse," said Andrzej Kasperek, analyst at Citigroup's Bank Handlowy. According to a Gazet a Wyborcza estimate, Netia's total debt currently stands at some zl.4 billio n, and analysts have predicted that the company would not record a profit un til 2005. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 31; Reuters) P.J.