As announced, following the necessary approvals, Central Port Komunikacyjny has finalised an agreement for the purchase of a controlling stake in Torpol, a company specialising in the modernisation and construction of the railway infrastructure. The investment in an experienced contractor is expected to facilitate the construction of the CPK spokes, i.e. the railway lines leading to the planned airport.
The agreement signed on April 5th concerns the CPK acquisition of a controlling stake (38% of the shares) in the joint-stock company, Torpol from Towarzystwo Finansowe Silesia (TFS), which until recently was its largest shareholder. The process began with the signing of a preliminary agreement in January of this year. Subsequently, CPK obtained the required corporate and president of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection approvals.
“The most important benefit of today’s transaction is the reduction in the contractor shortage risk during the implementation of this ambitious CPK railway investment programme. We have conducted the transaction in accordance with the best market standards. It was subjected to a profitability analysis and received a positive private investor test result, as a result of which we purchased one of the most important construction companies in Poland ,” says Mikołaj Wild, CEO of CPK.
CPK taking control of Torpol does not mean that it obtains contracts on a preferential basis. CPK conducts transparent procedures for awarding the contracts for construction works, where Torpol is able to submit its bid on the same terms and conditions as other market players and in accordance with the public procurement law.
The president of TFS, Jadwiga Dyktus, states that TFS has been actively involved in important investment and restructuring processes involving large state-owned enterprises for two decades:
“The company seized the investment opportunity by participating in Torpol’s IPO and, as a financial investor, performed its role to the best of its ability. We can assure both CPK and Torpol’s shareholders that today it is a professionally managed company with an innovative organisational culture, an excellent management team and a workforce of around 800 people dedicated to its success,” she stresses.
In the past, Torpol has carried out greenfield projects and has multi-discipline experience in investments in the railway, road and enclosed building sectors. The company has completed many projects, such as the construction of Łódź Fabryczna station.
CPK is preparing the construction of 10 spokes, each leading from different regions of Poland to Warsaw and the new airport. This amounts to a total of around 2,000 km in new railway lines. Feasibility studies (STEŚ) are already being developed for more than 1,500 km of them. CPK already has investor variants for the 140-kilometre section of the High-Speed Rail between Warsaw and Łódź, the 200 km section between Łódź and Wrocław, the 40 km in the Rzeszów area and the 70 km section between Katowice and Ostrava. The company plans to start work this year on the construction of a 5km long tunnel in the Łódź Fabryczna area.
More information is available from:
Maciej Kaczanowski
tel.: +48 539 188 898
e-mail: media@cpk.pl
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