| Headline: Central and eastern Europe - Elektrim pulls off a surprise Source: Euromoney magazine Date: January 2000 Author: Ian Dawson International investors in Polish conglomerate Elektrim have had a rollercoaster ride this year, as the company has striven to ditch a rag-bag of investments and concentrate on the ever popular telecoms market. The strong prospects for telecoms growth in Poland have attracted big foreign competitors and Elektrim has found itself shifting its alliances, first partnering with Deutsche Telekom in mobile telephony, then falling out with the German giant. In the process it came close to financial crisis. But new CEO Barbara Lundberg has struck a deal with Vivendi of France, that seems to have saved the day, for now. Ian Dawson reports "With the announcement of the third quarter results, there might be some disquiet amongst shareholders ...". So ran the press release which accompanied the first half numbers in early November of this year. It proved something of an understatement, with shareholders in Polish conglomerate Elektrim selling in droves in the immediate aftermath and analysts downgrading recommendations. The Polish team at ABN Amro focused on "soaring debt levels ... |