Polkomtel's profits soar, Polish shareholders ponder sale

The shareholders, the largest of whom are the copper giant KGHM, oil company PKN Orlen and National Grid (PSE), will soon choose an investment bank to advise them on the sale of their shares. "All of the investment banks vying for the contract agreed that 2004 is the best time to sell the shares [in Polkomtel]," said Piotr Rutkowski, vice-president of PSE. Although Vodafone, which holds a 19.61% stake in Polkomtel, would like to attain a strategic stake, the Polish shareholders are considering another option - transferring their shares to a new holding company and selling part of it on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. (Puls Biznesu, p. 8) T.J.