=DJ UPDATE: Poland To Keep Control Over Warsaw Bourse After IPO

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   By Marynia Kruk and Marcin Sobczyk
   Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

WARSAW (Dow Jones)--The Polish treasury will Friday vote at the Warsaw Stock Exchange's general meeting for changes which will secure its control of the business after an initial public offering planned later this year, the ministry said Thursday.

The vote will introduce changes to the stock market operator's corporate charter, the treasury ministry said in a presentation.

The treasury holds a 98.8% stake in the Warsaw Stock Exchange and plans to offer around 63% to the public in the IPO.

All current shares will be turned into preferred shares, giving almost two votes a share to holders, the treasury presentation said.

The shares offered in the IPO will lose their preferred status. In line with a formula designed to calculate the voting power of the preferred shares, the move will give the treasury around 52% of votes after the IPO.

The voting stock held by other shareholders or groups of them will be limited to 10% of WSE equity, in line with the proposal. The limit on voting rights won't affect the shares held by the treasury even if they are sold after the IPO.

Polish Treasury Minister Aleksander Grad told Dow Jones Newswires in June that the WSE would pick a strategic partner which may buy a minority stake in the business from the treasury after the company's planned November IPO. NYSE Euronext (NYX) in July signed a strategic partnership with the WSE, although it isn't currently considering buying a minority stake in the Polish stock market.

Poland's stake in WSE may be sold within two or three years of the IPO, WSE Chief Executive Ludwik Sobolewski said earlier in July.

-By Marynia Kruk and Marcin Sobczyk, Dow Jones Newswires; +48 22 447 2432; marcin.sobczyk@dowjones.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 29, 2010 07:03 ET (11:03 GMT)

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