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Bloomberg
Minority investors in Poland’s state-run companies fled on concerns that a surprise $753 million bid by the country’s top oil refiner to buy a power producer may herald more government efforts to build “cross-industry†national champions.
The risk is that some of the biggest companies listed in Warsaw — the worst-performing primary equity index in the world — are becoming more likely to be thrust into politically-motivated projects by their government-appointed executives. This could stoke new spending, curb profits and dividends.
Until the announcement of PKN Orlen SA‘s bid for Energa SA, the idea of building national champions was mainly viewed as a consolidation play within industries, not the creation of new conglomerates. The government has in past years used state-owned banks and utilities to buy out foreign competitors and tighten its grip on the country’s $586 billion economy.