The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has sold a 2.44% stake in Polish DTH provider and mobile operator Cyfrowy Polsat for about US$121.3m.
It sold around 15.6 million shares, a third of its holding, in an accelerated bookbuilt…
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has sold a 2.44% stake in Polish DTH provider and mobile operator Cyfrowy Polsat for about US$121.3m.
It sold around 15.6 million shares, a third of its holding, in an accelerated bookbuilt offering on the Warsaw stock exchange led by Deutsche Bank and Trigon.
The sale comes shortly after the group wrapped up its merger with Polish telecoms incumbent Polkomtel earlier this year.
EBRD had originally bought a stake in Polkomtel in 2011 as part of its privatisation, and this was transferred once the share swap transaction with Cyfrowy Polsat was completed in May.
Izzet Guney, EBRD’s head of ICT, said: “The bank, as an active minority shareholder, has supported the transformation of Cyfrowy Polsat into Poland’s leading media and telecommunications company, creating a converged platform of media content with mobile assets unique in the region.
“We have confidence in the management team and are proud of what has been achieved, which we see as a sound basis for the company’s future development.”
A spokesman for the bank declined to comment on any plan to further reduce its stake in Poland’s largest provider of satellite TV.
Cyfrowy Polsat and Polkomtel were controlled by billionaire Zygmunt Solorz-Żak even before they combined.
Solorz-Żak said: “This transaction illustrates the depth of support for the newly-merged company from international investors and increases the free float, thereby contributing to the liquidity of Cyfrowy Polsat and the development of Poland’s capital market.”
