Last July, Agora sold 2.2 million shares to institutional investors at 104 zlotys per share, representing a huge windfall for the company's employees. The average Gazeta Wyborcza reporter earns $13,000 a year, but more than a few staffers are now millionaires.
No other company in post-communist Poland is believed to have shared so much stock with so many employees. But the company is sharing the wealth with the rest of Poland too. When Luczwyo, Niemczycki, and Rapaczynski restructured Agora in preparation for its IPO, they set up a charitable trust, holding 7.5% of the issued shares. When the trust matures, the company is obligated to distribute the proceeds -- now valued at about $150 million -- to charities in Poland. "This isn't just a business for us," says Rapaczynski. "Part of being a free media, untainted by political interests, is being willing to play a role in the country's democracy. And part of that belief is being committed to broad ownership of this company and giving back to our country."
From Issue 40 | October 2000
http://polonia.wikia.com
No comments:
Post a Comment
You can use some HTML tags, such as <b>, <i>, <a> You can type in the link:
<a href="http://chessforallages.blogspot.com/2010/05/my-policy-on-comments.html"> My Policy on Comments</a> → more info