Polish direct mail operator Integer.pl sees PLN 20-25 mln IPO in Q2

Polish direct mail operator Integer.pl, which holds Poland’s largest alternative postal service InPost, plans an initial public offering (IPO) by the end of the second quarter of this year, hoping to raise PLN 20-25 mln, Krzysztof Kolpa, executive board member of InPost and Integer.pl, told Interfax Central Europe Wednesday.

“We are finishing the preparation of the IPO prospectus,” Kolpa said. “We expect the debut by the end of the second quarter and hope to raise PLN 20-25 mln, with 80-90% to fuel the growth of InPost.”

InPost is Poland’s first nationwide postal service alternative to the country’s postal administration Poczta Polska. The company currently handles parcels weighing more than 50 grams, with Poczta Polska enjoying the monopoly for letters under 50 grams until 2009.

InPost currently has 800 customer service points in 87 cities and plans to expand to a total of 1,000 outlets in 110 cities by the end of this year.

The company expects have 15 postal products, as well as sell financial and insurance products starting next year. InPost ias aims for 10% of the postal market within three years.

There are 154 alternative postal operators registered with the Electronic Communication Office (UKE), but the geographical coverage of most of them is limited to single townships or regions. InPost’s chief executive Rafal Brzoska told a press conference Wednesday the company believed the Polish market offers room for three-four large nationwide postal operators after the liberalization planned for 2009.

“Foreign companies are seriously considering entering the Polish market in 2009,” Brzoska said. “Those companies include [Germany’s] Deutsche Post, [France’s] La Poste, and the Austrian postal administration.”

Brzoska said that despite denials voiced by the executives of Europe’s largest postal operators, they were conducting marketing and feasibility studies of the Polish market ahead of the launch in 2009.

“Those companies will be building their networks from scratch rather than taking over local businesses,” Brzoska said, adding InPost also focused on organic growth and was not planning any acquisitions in the near future.

InPost’s owner Integer.pl is a distributor of direct mail with 75 regional officers, operating in more than 500 cities and towns in Poland. The company distributes 50-70 mln pieces of direct mail a month.

InPost’s Brzoska, who is also one of the main shareholders of Integer.pl, said the company would not be sold to a foreign investor within the next few years.