State Treasury has completed another successful transaction on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Accelerated book building of 14 million shares in Grupa Lotos S.A. for PLN 406 mln was – in relation to both the average daily trading volume as well as the free float of the company – one of the largest transactions of this kind to take place in Europe over the last couple of years. Over 80% of the offer has been placed among Polish institutional investors. Domestic pension funds have played an important role, once again, in privatisation transactions, acquiring 45% of the shares offered for sale.

The placement of Lotos shares is yet another proof of the significant potential of Polish capital markets. Scheduled for two days, the transaction was completed within one day, and the offer volume was upsized from a base deal of 12.9 mln shares to 14 mln shares. In relation to the average daily volume and the free float of the company, this transaction was one of the largest transactions of this kind in Europe over the last couple of years.

Polish institutional investors have acquired 83% of the offer, but the transaction also attracted the attention of foreign institutional investors, including those from the UK, Sweden and Switzerland. This further evidences the increasing significance of the Warsaw Stock Exchange as a regional capital centre that has emerged on the map of Europe.
Lotos was the second best performing stock in the WIG20 index, after KGHM, in 2009. The placement price of PLN 29 per share is within the range of top 17% of Lotos’ prices over the last 12 months.

As part of the offer, State Treasury is prevented from selling further shares in Lotos on the Stock Exchange for the next 180 days (“lock-up”). Additionally, in the foreseeable future, State Treasury does not intend to execute any other accelerated book-building transactions involving companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

Proceeds from the sale of Lotos shares of over PLN 400 mln are a part of the Four-Year Privatisation Plan announced by Minister Aleksander Grad in 2008.