Proud history, uncertain future
The Gdańsk Shipyard may well be considered a historical site as the legendary cradle of the Solidarity movement, but it is also an ailing business entity. Since 1998, after the company went bankrupt, it has been part of the state-controlled Gdynia Shipyard group. But now that the mother company is on the verge of bankruptcy itself and looking to obtain funds from a share issue, Gdańsk Shipyard is up for grabs again.
The government wants the Gdańsk Shipyard to be separated from the Gdynia group before it is handed to private investors. Although rumors appeared that the famous investor, Roman Karkosik, was interested in buying the firm, only two contenders actually submitted their offers.
The first one - the state-owned energy distributor Energa - wanted to purchase Gdańsk Shipyard in a consortium with the Industrial Development Agency (ARP). Gdynia Shipyard owes Energa some zł.20 million for energy supplies, so the takeover would be a method of debt restructuring. Two weeks ago, however, the management of Energa was changed and the current bosses still haven't decided if they want to maintain the offer.
"If it turns out that the schedule of Gdańsk Shipyard's 'healing' has a rational and real basis, then there will be a premise for the continuation of the undertaking on the company's side," Adam Jakowski, acting CEO of Energa told a press conference. "But it's too early for binding answers," he added.
The second potential buyer is the Gdańsk Shipyard Holding, in which a 60 percent stake is held by trade unions and the remaining 40 by a Gdańsk Shipyard subsidiary.
