In an emailed statement today, PKP Cargo SA said that investor Polskie Koleje Panstwowe SA would be selling part of its stake in the former's freight transportation unit in the last quarter of this year. On July 11, daily business newspaper Puls Biznesu had speculated that the stake sale of the Polish state railway would fetch as much as PLN1.65 billion or USD526 million, and had no supporting documentation or calculation as to how it got a figure.
PKP Chief Executive Officer Jakub Karnowski said, "PKP Cargo may be the EU's first rail freight company operator to be floated. Our strategically important location at the crossroads of numerous railway routes and planned massive modernizations of rail infrastructure should be of particular interest."
In order to reduce debt, PKP had been selling its assets like its subsidiaries and real estate in recent years. The biggest so far were done in 2011, which was the sale of its rail-building company and just this year with the sale of its cable car operator.
The released statement did not comment on the valuation made by the Polish business newspaper. Polish State Railway would remain as a major shareholder in PKP Cargo after the IPO.
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