A Hint of Polish IPO

9:20 AM -- Here's a move that will put the health of the Polish telecom sector to the test: The parent company of competitive operator Dialog Telecom SA looks set to list the service provider's shares on the Warsaw stock exchange next year, according to a report from Thomson Financial that cites a Polish news agency as its source.

According to the report, copper manufacturer KGHM, currently Dialog's sole owner, will decide in the next few weeks whether to raise money to fund Dialog's expansion through an IPO.

KGHM, which also owns a 19 percent stake in Polish mobile operator Polkomtel SA , plans to retain a majority stake in Dialog, which has about 440,000 voice customers and 95,000 broadband customers. (See Thomson/Cirpack Wins and Poles Select Cisco.)

By contrast, Poland's incumbent operator, Telekomunikacja Polska SA , owned by Orange (NYSE: FTE), has more than 10 million fixed-line subscribers and 1.3 million broadband customers.

Earlier this year the Polish media reported that German giant Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT), which already holds a stake in Polish mobile operator Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa Sp. z.o.o. (PTC) , was interested in acquiring Dialog, but that the talks stalled over the price. Dialog is reportedly valued by analysts at around $200 million.

— Ray Le Maistre, International News Editor, Light Reading

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