EBRD REDUCES STAKE IN POLAND’S LEADING TELECOMS/MEDIA PLATFORM CYFROWY POLSAT

The EBRD has reduced its stake in Cyfrowy Polsat, Poland’s leading media and telecommunications companies, by selling 33 per cent of its shares. The partial sale reflects the Bank’s continuing commitment to the company and its successful development.

The shares, representing 2.44 per cent of Cyfrowy Polsat’s total shares, were sold in an Accelerated Bookbuilt Offering launched after the stock market close in Warsaw on 9 September 2014. The transaction was successfully completed at a price close to the closing price of PLN 25.23 on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The shares were placed with domestic and international institutional investors through Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch and Trigon as joint bookrunners.

The EBRD originally acquired a stake in Polkomtel in 2011 as part of the company’s privatisation in a transaction which delivered value to Polish mobile phone customers, including the development of a nationwide high-speed network. In May 2014, a share swap transaction was concluded between Polkomtel and Cyfrowy Polsat, the largest provider of satellite pay TV and free-to-air TV services in Poland, creating a media telecommunications company with almost 18 million customers.

Izzet Guney, EBRD Director-Head, Information and Communications Technologies, said: “The Bank, as an active minority shareholder, has supported the transformation of Cyfrowy Polsat into Poland’s leading media and telecommunication 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.”

Zygmunt Solorz-Żak, leading entrepreneur and architect of Cyfrowy Polsat’s transformation, commented: “We have appreciated the strong support of the EBRD over this significant period in the company’s history and we look forward to our further co-operation with the Bank as a leading shareholder. 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.”

Source – EBRD

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