* Would want operational control of power producer PAK
* Expects Poland's sale of controlling stake to succeed
* 2010 Capex around 1 bln zlotys ($341.2 mln)
* Shares up 1 pct
By Agnieszka Barteczko
WARSAW, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Poland's No.3 power group Enea
<ENAE.WA> will likely bid for the state stake in energy producer
Patnow-Adamow-Konin (PAK) if it can gain management control, its
chief executive told Reuters in an interview.
Poland is seeking to sell its half of PAK, which has been at
the heart of a long-running dispute between the state and its
other shareholder, troubled conglomarate Elektrim.
Elektrim, controlled by Poland's richest man, media mogul
Zygmunt Solorz-Zak, gained day-to-day management of PAK when it
bought its stake a decade ago.
"We would have to have the possibility of operational
control of PAK," CEO Maciej Owczarek said on Friday. "I would
put the likelihood of an offer as very, very high."
The treasury ministry, which has a 61-percent stake in Enea
after selling 16 percent earlier this week, set a March 15
deadline for offers for its 50-percent PAK stake.
Polish media has speculated that CEZ <>, the
region's largest listed company, may also be interested in the
PAK stake and two associated mines valued together at some 3.5
billion zlotys ($1.2 billion).
Owczarek said Enea would need to take on some debt to buy
the PAK stake.
Enea shares rose 1 percent late in the session, in line with
the wider market. The stock has gained 14 percent since its
market debut in November 2008, underperforming Warsaw's broad
WIG index <> by 20 percent in the same time period.
The company, in which Sweden's Vattenfall [] has a
19-percent stake, also plans some 1 billion zlotys of capital
expenditures this year, Owczarek said.
Enea expects to spend 22 billion zlotys through 2020 on
modernising its power generation and distribution, as well as
renewable energy sources.
Some 95 percent of Poland's electricity currently comes from
coal.
Asked when Enea's net profit would surpass 1 billion zlotys,
Owczarek said: "2011 will be the first year when we see a
significant improvement in results, but it would be a big
challenge. 2012 seems more likely."
In the first nine months of 2009 Enea earned 446 million
zlotys. Owczarek would not comment on full-year figures.
Owczarek added he expects Poland to succeed in selling its
controlling stake in the company despite its failure to complete
the sale to Germany's RWE <RWEG.DE> last year.
"Every serious player should consider the purchase of a
company like Enea. I don't see any reasons why the second stage
of privatisation should not happen. The only question is when,"
he said.
(Writing by Chris Borowski; Editing by David Cowell)
