The task of privatization advisors includes, among other things, determining the status and development prospects of the enterprise, analyzing and assessing the legal situation of assets, and valuing the company. In the next stage, the advisor is to recommend a privatization strategy for the company to the owner and then support its implementation.
– The goal of privatizing PKP Group companies is to obtain funds for their development and to carry out investments that will allow for the modernization or expansion of existing operations, increasing their competitiveness on the market – says Andrzej Wach, President of the Management Board of PKP S.A.
In the case of PNI, these funds would be allocated to the purchase of modern equipment used for construction and modernization work; for Polskie Koleje Linowe, they would enable the expansion of the scope of current operations; in PKP Energetyka, they would be allocated to the construction of equipment and installations for electricity generation; in PKP Intercity, to the purchase of modern rolling stock; and in PKP Cargo, to the purchase of new wagons and investments in logistics centers and transshipment terminals.
Przedsiębiorstwo Napraw Infrastruktury Sp. z o.o. provides services in the field of modernization, design, and construction of rail and road routes, engineering structures, buildings, and facilities, as well as comprehensive repair and maintenance of railway infrastructure. Recently, the company has worked on, among others, the modernization of railway lines: Warsaw – Łódź, Kunowice – Warsaw – Terespol, Warsaw West – Warsaw Okęcie, Wrocław – Szczecin, Łuków – Radom, and the reconstruction of the Hrubieszów station for LHS. Currently, the company is participating in the implementation of the largest investments carried out by PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe, such as the modernization of the lines: Warsaw – Gdynia and Wrocław – Opole. PNI currently employs 1,900 people. According to the assumptions, the recommendation for the company’s privatization strategy is to be ready in the second half of this year.
Polskie Koleje Linowe S.A. is the largest company in the country providing services with cable cars, ski lifts, and gravity slides, located in tourist-attractive regions of southern Poland – the Tatra Mountains (Kasprowy Wierch, Hala Gąsienicowa, Hala Goryczkowa), the Gubałówka Range (Gubałówka, Butorowy Wierch), Góra Parkowa overlooking the city of Krynica, Palenica and Szafranówka in Szczawnica, and Góra Żar in Międzybrodzie Żywieckie. The company currently employs 200 people. The deadline for submitting applications for admission to the procedure for selecting a privatization advisor is March 8, 2010. The advisor is expected to begin work in the second quarter of this year.
PKP Energetyka S.A. is an enterprise that supplies electricity and is one of its largest domestic consumers (3.4% of national consumption). It has a distribution network throughout the country, located both in the centers of large cities and in less urbanized areas. The largest clients of PKP Energetyka, apart from PKP Group companies, also include: Dell Polska, Metro Warszawskie, General Motors Poland, Grupa Kęty, Echo Investment, Tesco Polska, and the Łódź Special Economic Zone. In addition to supplying electricity, the company also provides a very wide range of electrical power services throughout the country. It currently employs over 8,000 people. The deadline for submitting bids in the open tender to select a privatization advisor is March 23, 2010. The advisor is expected to begin work in the second quarter of this year.
PKP Cargo S.A. is a company dealing with rail freight transport – conventional, combined, heavy, oversized, and hazardous cargo transport, both in domestic and international traffic. It also conducts rail-ferry transport. Every day, PKP Cargo operates an average of 1,300 trains, serving over 10,000 entrepreneurs, including Kompania Węglowa, ArcelorMittal, and Węglokoks. The company currently employs 28,800 people. A privatization advisor has been working at PKP Cargo since December 2009. It is a consortium of the companies McKinsey&Company, Bank Zachodni WBK, Dom Maklerski BZ WBK, and the law firm Weil, Gotshal&Manages. Last year, a deep restructuring process was implemented in the company, which is being continued this year. The changes being introduced are intended to create conditions for making an offer to investors in 2011.
PKP Intercity S.A. is the largest Polish railway operator, specializing in domestic and international long-distance passenger transport. Every day, it operates an average of 500 trains connecting city centers and tourist resorts in the country and abroad, in three categories: Express InterCity, Express, and Tanie Linie Kolejowe (Cheap Railway Lines). Last year, almost 52 million passengers traveled on PKP Intercity trains. The company currently employs 9,000 people. A privatization advisor has been working at PKP Intercity since March 2008. It is a consortium of the companies PricewaterhouseCoopers Polska and ING Securities.
Privatization advisors are also working at: Bombardier Transportation (ZWUS) Polska Sp. z o.o. – PKF Consult Sp. z o.o. and the Railway Health Resort Hospital in Ciechocinek – F5 Konsulting Sp. z o.o.