Final Word from Wednesday, March 21, 2007
ČEZ announced plans yesterday for regaining the state's two-thirds supermajority in the electricity utility. CEO Martin Roman told Impuls radio that the board will seek shareholder permission to buy back 10% of the outstanding shares. If the state sold only 6% of ČEZ as a way to raise the Kč 31bn it needs for road work, he said, its stake could return to above the two-thirds level after ČEZ canceled the shares it bought back. He expects the buyback to take most of this year. In the meantime, the extra 6% on the market could serve as a bonus to speculators. According to the word on the street, dozens of Czechs have become billionaires by buying and selling ČEZ shares on margin. The small free float has hampered their speculative style of trading, though. One of our readers said that if you're looking for the real reason why the cabinet approved the sale of up to 7%, this is it.[Czech Republic Prague Stock Exchange flotation]