Current reports

Netia Holdings S.A. (Nasdaq: NTIA), the largest alternative fixed-line telecommunications operator in Poland, today announced the completion of its initial public offering on Nasdaq. Netia's American Depositary Shares (ADS), each equivalent to one of the Company's common shares, began trading on July 29, at a price of $22 per ADS, and raised proceeds of $114.6 million. The proceeds will be applied towards the build-out of its national long-haul backbone and metropolitan access digital fibre-optic telecommunications network and for general corporate purposes.

 

The offering was made through an underwriting group managed by Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette as global coordinator and sole book-runner, by Credit Suisse First Boston and Lehman Brothers as Co-Lead Managers, and by ABN AMRO Rothschild and Deutsche Bank as Co-Managers. Certain existing shareholders of the Company have granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 825,000 secondary shares to cover over-allotments. All trading in the Netia ADS is conditional and subject to cancellation until the capital increase required by this primary offering is registered with the Commercial Court in Warsaw.

 

Meir Srebernik, President and CEO of Netia, commented: "We are delighted with the international financial markets' support of Netia's Nasdaq IPO, the first U.S. listing by a Polish company. The strong response of institutional investors is a true vote of confidence for Poland, for Netia and for the growth opportunities in the Polish telecommunications market."

 

Netia is the largest alternative fixed-line telecommunications operator in Poland, with 23 licenses to provide local telecommunications services in territories covering some 13 million people or approximately 33% of the Polish population. Netia has also secured the benefit of a data and IP license to provide data transmission and internet-based services nationally.

 

The Company's local telephone license territories cover five of the country's ten largest urban areas including Krakow, Poznan, Gdansk, Lublin, Katowice and several territories surrounding the city of Warsaw. At March 31, 1999, Netia owned and operated approximately 1,150 route kilometers (718 miles) of state-of-the-art inter-city fibre-optic network. At May 31, 1999, the company's digital access network serviced 186,814 subscriber lines in operation, out of which 32,000 lines are servicing business customers.

 

With approximately 39 million people and a 22% fixed-line telephone penetration rate as December 31, 1998, Poland represents an attractive, dynamic market for private fixed-line telephone providers such as Netia.

 

Copies of the prospectus which contains detailed information about the Company and its American Depositary Shares can be obtained by contacting Ania Kuchnio at the following address: