Indicative offers for Polish mobile network operator Polkomtel are due by 21 February, with sellers expected to whittle down the shortlist of potential suitors allowed to conduct due diligence by early March, writes Dow Jones Newswires citing a person familiar with the matter. The long-awaited information memorandum on Polkomtel was sent out last Monday, the source added. US buyout firms TPG and Blackstone Group are reported to be mulling a shared bid, while London-based CVC Capital Partners and Apax Partners are looking at making their own bids for the company, as is Swedish telco TeliaSonera.
The eagerly expected sale has been complicated by the fact that Polkomtel is owned by five companies, with the Polish government holding substantial stakes in three of them, and each retaining their own financial advisor. Poland’s largest power group, PGE holds a 21.85% stake in Polkomtel and is advised by ING Securities; oil refiner PKN Orlen holds 24.39% and is advised by Nomura Holdings; copper miner KGHM Polska Miedz also has 24.39% and is advised by Rothschild. Poland’s Treasury owns stakes of 84.99%, 27.52%, and 31.79% in the three companies, respectively. The remaining shareholders in Polkomtel are Vodafone Group, which has a 24.39% stake, and coal miner Weglokoks, which is wholly owned by the Treasury and holds a 4.98% stake.