Courts restrict Cyfrowy Polsat owner's right to dispose of property - Polish media

Cyfrowy Polsat SA

10/12/2024 09:32

WARSAW, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Courts in Liechtenstein and
Cyprus have restricted the possibility of the disposal of Polish
media group Cyfrowy Polsat's  CPS.WA  property by its owner
Zygmunt Solorz, Polish media reported on Tuesday, sending its
shares down around 7%. 
    Shares in Cyfrowy Polsat sank in recent months after an
escalation in a conflict between its billionaire founder and
majority shareholder and his children, who held key management
positions in the company.
    The share fall in early trade on Tuesday was related to the
media reports, said Piotr Raciborski, Head of TMT Research at
investment bank Wood & Company. 
    Solorz dismissed his sons from the supervisory board of his
companies while his children expressed concern about his welfare
and told managers to be careful when accepting orders from
people who have recently acquired power in his businesses.
    Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza and website Onet.pl reported on
Tuesday that a court decided to appoint a custodian for the
family's business, restricting Solorz's ability to make
decisions about his companies. 
    "Zygmunt Solorz's children consistently strive to protect
the family's assets. Observing their father's deteriorating
health and susceptibility to the influence of his current wife
and her environment, they took the necessary steps to prevent
her from taking control of the family property," the children's
lawyers said in a statement quoted by Gazeta Wyborcza. 
    Cyfrowy Polsat did not immediately respond to an emailed
request for comment on the media reports.

 (Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk in Warsaw, Anna Banacka
in Gdansk, editing by Ed Osmond)
 ((anna.wlodarczak@thomsonreuters.com;))