Polish utility company Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) has decided to keep telecoms unit Exatel after attempts to sell it failed.
PGE said the benefits of keeping Extael within the group currently outweigh the potential benefits of selling it,…
Polish utility company Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) has decided to keep telecoms unit Exatel after attempts to sell it failed.
PGE said the benefits of keeping Extael within the group currently outweigh the potential benefits of selling it, adding that its assets may be used effectively in other parts of the business.
PGE, which owns a 95.6% stake in Exatel, launched a tender for the unit in October 2010, hiring PwC as its financial adviser. The following month, the company announced it had shortlisted two candidates: local mobile operator Polkomtel and local fixed-line operator and ISP Mediatel.
However, Mediatel said in December 2010 it had withdrawn from the tender. CEO Miroslaw Jansiewicz was quoted by newswires at the time as saying the company felt the process lacked transparency, pointing out that its financial partners had not been allowed to complete due diligence.
Marek Szostek, vice president of PGE’s management board for development, said in a statement at the time that the company attributed Mediatel’s decision to “ownership relations” it had with local fixed-line operator Netia, which reportedly also submitted a preliminary bid for Exatel. Bids from Netia and infrastructure-based telco GTS Central Europe were reportedly rejected.
In January 2011, PGE announced its board had decided to annul the sale procedure as no binding offers had been submitted by the prescribed deadline. However, it stated the Exatel sale remained an “integral” part of its strategy to gradually dispose of non-core assets.
