Will Dialog's debt hold it back from sector merger?

State-controlled Tel-Energo yesterday said it was interested in merging with Dialog, the telecom unit of copper miner KGHM, and other small operators in cluding troubled Szeptel. On Thursday, Tel-Energo CEO Andrzej Arendarski sa id at a news conference that after the company completes its purchase of da ta network operator Telbank in March, it would look for further acquisition opportunities in the sector. While KGHM has been searching for a buyer for Dialog, it is hampered by the unit's zl. 1.4 billion debt to its parent com pany. However, KGHM expects its Telefonia Dialog to have a positive impact on group results for the first time this year. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1,9; Rzec zpospolita, p. B4; Reuters) J.K.