Retail investors targeted by Treasury in PKO BP IPO

The Treasury Ministry wants to attract more retail investors than ever before in the forthcoming privatization of banking giant PKO BP, Treasury Minister Jacek Socha revealed. The 30% stake in the bank that the Treasury plans to sell will be divided into four tranches out of which 21-25% of the shares will be reserved for retail investors, 30-35% for domestic institutional investors and 30% for foreign investors. The remaining 5-14% of the shares reserved for the stabilization of the stock course may also be allotted to retail investors. The retail investors may open a so-called privatization deposit account worth between zł.500 and zł.50,000 which will guarantee that they receive the number of shares they want. They will get a 4% discount if they subscribe to the shares in the first week of the IPO and 2% if they do so in the second. On top of that, those retail investors who do not sell the shares for a year will receive an extra share for every twenty they own. (Gazeta Wyborcza, August 28-29, p.29; Parkiet, p.1) E.B.