Ruch privatization back on track after two-year hiatus

The Warsaw district court ruled yesterday to unblock shares of Poland's larg est press distributor, Ruch S.A., bringing the company's privatization proce ss back on track. The shares were blocked in 1999 through a motion brought f orward by a consortium of Hachette Distribution Services (HDS) and Wydawcy P rasy. The consortium had taken part in the first bid but the Treasury Minist ry, which owns 100% of Ruch's shares, had declined the offer due to a low of fer price. "We welcome this decision with great joy," commented Ruch S.A. sp okesman Roman Zielinski. "Privatization will clearly strengthen the company ." Ruch S.A. holds almost 60% of the press distribution market. Besides the international consortium of HDS-Wydawcy Prasy, companies which showed intere st in the upcoming tender for the sale of Ruch are Agora S.A., Polsat, and R uch's largest competitor, holder of 27% of the market, Kolporter S.A. (Gazet a Wyborcza, p. 28; Puls Biznesu, p. 9; Prawo i Gospodarka, p. 4) A.K.