Outlook for Kety bright despite failure of investor talks

Following the breakdown of talks with French company Pechiney, it now seems certain that leading aluminum producer Grupa Kety will fail in its attempt to find a foreign investor within the first quarter of this year. According to anonymous sources quoted by both Prawo i Gospodarka and Puls Biznesu, the negotiations broke down because of the unrealistically high valuation placed on the company by Kety shareholders. Despite the failure of the talks, analysts maintain that Kety's future remains assured. In fact, the successful cost-cutting restructuring, the meeting of current investment needs and a net profit forecast for 2001 of zl.45 million are all believed to have contributed to the shareholders' high expectations. "With its market position, Kety may do well without a sector investor for a long time," commented Tomasz Cwintal from BPH PBK. (Prawo i Gospodarka, p. 12; Puls Biznesu, p. 5) M.K.