Tuesday June 30, 11:15 AM
UPDATE 1-PKN mulls floating Polkomtel for at least $1.2 bln
By Patryk Wasilewski
PLOCK, Poland, June 30 (Reuters) - Poland's top refiner PKN Orlen is considering floating its 25 percent stake in the country's top mobile operator among options to unload it for at least $1.2 billion,
its chief financial officer said.
Slawomir Jedrzejczyk told Reuters the state-controlled refiner is seeking a minimum of 753.41 zlotys ($234) for each share in Polkomtel, which would value the entire stake at 3.77 billion zlotys.
'Selling the stake on the Warsaw bourse is an alternative scenario (to finding a single buyer) but it will depend on the market situation,' Jedrzejczyk told Reuters on the sidelines of general shareholder meeting.
Polish copper miner KGHM, also state-controlled, wants to hold on to its stake, dashing hopes the two could jointly sell a controlling stake to Vodafone (LSE: VOD.L - news) , which also owns a quarter of Polkomtel.
Vodafone has said previously that it is committed to Polkomtel and may consider increasing its stake if the terms were right.
Facing pressure to slash debt, PKN has said it wants to sell its 25 percent holding in Polkomtel by year-end.
Jedrzejczyk added the company has not held talks with other Polkomtel shareholders about them forfeiting their right of first refusal to the stake.
'At the moment none of the other Polkomtel shareholders have expressed interest in our stake. We will find a buyer first, then give the other shareholders a chance to make use of their rights,' he said.
PKN shares rose 2.5 percent by 0958 GMT, outperforming a 1.5 percent gain of the Warsaw's main index.
($1=3.220 Zloty)
(Additional reporting by Pawel Bernat and Kate Holton; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter) Keywords: PKN POLKOMTEL/
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