Poland.com's fate rests on Elektrim document

Poland.com, one of last year's dotcom casualties, will not be able to seal a key comeback deal with a prospective investor until its former majority owner, Elektrim, delivers an overdue legal document finalizing the previous sale of the Internet firm to portal employees, said Tomasz Głowiak, president of Poland.com. Poland.com needs investment to fund its new strategy, which will include some of its English-language portal operations. In March, Głowiak said the firm might sell online IT services. The company is also zł. 15 million ($3.75 million) in debt, he said. Głowiak and two other Poland.com employees bought Elektrim's 75% stake in the portal last November in two buyout transactions. They purchased the remaining 25% stake from venture capital firm MCI Management, creator of the portal, in a separate sale. But the second transaction with Elektrim is still open, and the power and telecom conglomerate is holding the final legal document. "The main reasons for the investment delay (are) all connected with Elektrim's case," Głowiak said, adding that one of Elektrim's attorneys is still reviewing the document for the second transaction, which requires the signatures of two Elektrim executives.

Ewa Bojar, Elektrim's spokeswoman, said she had no information about why the final document hadn't been delivered and could not comment. Elektrim is engulfed in its own legal and financial quagmire and faces the possibility of being forced into bankruptcy by creditors that the firm owes zł. 2.33 billion ($583 million). "I would not be surprised if all the time Elektrim needed for simple documents would turn out to be lost time for Poland.com," Głowiak said, adding that his firm was unable to take any legal action against Elektrim. Poland.com signed a letter of intent (LOI) two months ago with a Polish IT company for the exclusive right to buy shares in the Internet company, Głowiak said. According to the terms of the LOI, the prospective investor has four more months to purchase a stake. Głowiak previously told the WBJ that Poland.com would reveal its new strategy by the end of March, but that the failure to obtain the legal document from Elektrim stalled the announcement along with unfinished work on the portal's new services. He added that the new services would be completed by the end of this month, but did not provide details. Despite the lack of an investor, the portal is in the midst of making small changes to its English-language Web site and will add a new search engine this month, he said.