TP to post consolidated results with Centertel to following takeover

Yesterday, the two companies signed a preliminary agreement. The price for the stake was set at zł.4.88 billion. "We will pay in cash. We will also take a small loan from FT," said Marek Józefiak, TP's president. The Polish operator believes that after the acquisition it will be easier for the firm to win more clients on the domestic market. From 2006 the operator's financial results will be 100% consolidated, which means that TP group's net profit will increase drastically. BDM PKO BP brokerage house estimates that in 2005 Centertel's net profit will amount to zł.900 million. "The transaction will surely change the loss and gain balance. I do not expect, however, any considerable changes on the operational level, since both companies have always cooperated very closely," stated Dorota Puchlew from BDM PKO BP. TP's standing on the Warsaw bourse dropped by nearly 4% yesterday, but analysts believe this could have been the result of the bad market situation caused by political tension. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 8) A.F.