Netia has been given exclusivity in negotiations with Jupiter NIF on acquiring Pro Futuro, an internet and VoIP service provider, according to today’s “Parkiet” daily. Netia has not officially commented on the newspaper report, that it is offering PLN 75-80m for a 75% stake in Pro Futuro plus its debt. Jupiter NIF has been trying to sell Pro Futuro for some time, but the negotiations with Dutch Linxtelecom and Exatel have failed to produce an agreement, so far.
Taking into account that Netia has been preparing for 3G and WiMax services launch later this year, we view the news on a relatively significant acquisition as surprising. We reiterate our Sell rating for Netia with PLN 4.1 fair value estimate.