Poland's Stocznia Gdynia Yard To Offer IPOs

Poland's biggest shipyard Stocznia Gdynia plans to list on the Warsaw and London exchanges next June and invest its IPO proceeds in further development, a company official said on Wednesday.

Gdynia, which has shown interest in buying Masa-Yards of Finland and becoming one of the first large eastern European firms to invest abroad, is owned by its management and employees, the state treasury and several minority shareholders.

Last year Gdynia, the world's fourth biggest maker of container vessels, bought the neighboring bankrupt Gdansk shipyard.

"With the dynamic growth we are now experiencing, we can encounter logistical barriers and that is why we plan to use the money from the public offer exclusively for the company's development," an official said.

But he added that, despite the need for large outlays, the firm was not having problems with financial liquidity.

The official said that Gdynia must concentrate on its logistical system, which allows the firm to cooperate with 800 suppliers in order to gain new contracts.

Gdynia, which provides vessels that carry chemicals, gas and cars, as well as containerships, is located on Poland's Baltic Sea coast. The company recently signed agreements to build 61 ships worth $2.2 billion through 2003.

While the official declined to provide further details about the planned issue, he said that at least 15 percent would be listed in London in the form of Global Depository Receipts (GDRs), and that Gdynia planned to acquire Poland's Polnocna shipyard, as well as to buy jointly a majority stake in ship engine maker H. Cegielski with smaller Szczecin shipyard and other partners.