Ster-Projekt will sell its stake in PI and make a handsome profit

In March 2004, Ster-Projekt purchased a 1.6% stake in property developer PI, controlled by Ryszard Krauze, the president of Prokom Software, paying zł.16 million for the stake. According to an initial agreement signed recently, PI is to repurchase the stake for the same amount, that is zł.16 million plus interests, which amounts to around 8% on an annual basis. "That is much more than we could make on a bank deposit or by investing in securities," explains Karol Cieślak, Ster-Projekt's financial director. The company was strongly criticized by investors and market analysts when it purchased shares in a company not connected with its core activities, and this also lead to a significant drop in the company's share price on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. (Parkiet, p. 3) A.K.