Polish Post Office to buy stake in WEA

Poczta Polska (PP), the Polish post office, plans to purchase several cargo planes from a firm owned by Zbigniew Niemczycki, White Eagle Aviation (WEA), which has provided cargo services to PP. This idea is one of several to build a strong logistics company, said PP director for strategic development, Dominik Czajewski. Other ideas include acquisitions of smaller companies by PP, or development of PP subsidiaries to operate in this sector. WEA is 71-percent owned by Niemczycki’s Curtis Group, with the remaining stake controlled by the German travel firm TUI. The cargo firm WEA generates 85 percent of its income through contracts with PP. Earlier this year, the company closed its charter passenger services, following a loss of ZL5m in 2002. At present the company is divided into two groups, one for cargo, and one for services that have not yet been specified. The latter group may be offered to PP, sources say.