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Note: Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen (PZU) started investor education for one of the largest floats in Europe this year on Tuesday. The Polish insurer's up to $2bn IPO comes ahead of the privatisation offering of utility Tauron Polska Energia, which the Polish government plans to list in Warsaw this quarter. The two will provide a key test of demand for emerging market issues, said equity bankers.
"To anyone on the buy side who is thinking seriously about Poland and about the insurance sector, PZU is a must," said one banker away from the deal. The deal will appeal to emerging market specialists in London and New York, predicted one banker involved.
"Generalist investors with a financial portfolio or an interest in insurers will want to look at the IPO," he said.
PZU plans to complete its deal by June. No further details have yet been released on size or timing, but bankers expect an issue of between $1.5bn and $2bn. Once listed, PZU will be one of the largest stocks in Poland and part of the country's WIG 20 benchmark index.
PZU will also target local pension funds as natural long-term holders of the stock. "But global funds or pan-European funds are much larger than domestic funds. They own more...