(Repeats story published late on Wednesday)
By Jan Lopatka
PRAGUE, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Owners of the Prague Stock
Exchange (PSE) are looking for a partner to buy a majority stake
and boost development of the central European country's capital
market, the PSE and shareholders said on Wednesday.
Trading on the Prague bourse -- itself not listed -- has
picked up in recent years on the improved regulatory environment
and the country's economic convergence with western Europe.
But the PSE has lured only six new listings in the past
decade, as many start-ups rely on bank finance, venture capital
and strategic partners.
Its main SPAD trading segment lists 14 stocks and the market
capitalisation of the SPAD companies is $114 billion, including
two secondary listings of Austrian financial firms worth $28
billion.
"Shareholders of the Prague Stock Exchange, who have a
combined controlling stake, decided to launch a jointly managed
process of the sale of their stakes," the PSE said.
"The reason for this approach is a heightened interest from
the side of financial investors and strategic partners in
combination with the global trend of consolidation of exchange
markets," it said.
Chief Jan Klenor of investment bank Patria Finance, the
PSE's biggest shareholder with 24.85 percent stake according to
the bourse's 2007 annual report, said it was willing to sell.
Komercni Banka <>, a unit of Societe Generale
<SOGN.PA>, said it would also consider selling its stake which
according to the annual report stood at 11.51 percent.
"We are ready to consider selling along with our partners if
there is a good offer," Chief Executive Laurent Goutard told a
news conference.
Analyst Milan Vanicek of Atlantik FT, a brokerage which also
holds a 1.13 percent stake in the PSE, said he valued the
exchange at 4-5 billion crowns ($258.7-$323.4 million), based on
nine transactions in the sector.
The bourse's biggest stock is power firm CEZ <>,
central Europe's largest company with a market capitalisation of
over $48 billion.
Last year, shares worth 1,013 billion crowns ($65.51
billion) and bonds worth 509 billion changed hands on the
exchange. The PSE's group, which includes an electricity
exchange and settlement firms, made a net profit of 198 million.
LOOKING AROUND REGION, AND BEYOND
A co-owner of a small shareholder, who refused to be named,
said Vienna and Warsaw exchanges may be interested, as well as
Deutsche Boerse <DB1Gn.DE> or OMX Nordic Exchange <NDAQ.O>.
Vienna bourse said it may bid.
"We are always interested in principle in strategic stakes
in central and eastern European stock market operators, if we
are welcome as a partner -- and this is also true for the Prague
bourse," said Wiener Boerse spokeswoman Beatrix Exinger.
The Vienna exchange already has a controlling interest of
the Budapest bourse.
In the past, the Warsaw Stock Exchange had shown interest in
the PSE but its chief Ludwig Sobolewski declined to comment on
the current sale. Deutsche Boerse also said it had no comment.
(Additional reporting by Jan Korselt and Jana Mlcochova in
Prague, Boris Groendahl in Vienna, Pawel Bernat in Warsaw;
editing by Tony Austin/Elaine Hardcastle)
