The process of ownership change of the Club has been implemented pursuant to Order no. 5 of the Minister of the State Treasury of 13 February 2009 concerning withdrawal of capital shares from sports clubs.
According to these regulations, the current owner - PGE Kopalnia Węgla Brunatnego Bełchatów S.A. is conducting activities aimed at the introduction of changes in the ownership structure of GKS Bełchatów SSA. This process should be completed at the end of March 2010.
The Management Board of PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A. supports all activities undertaken by the Club's owner and expresses its satisfaction with the fact that the provisions of the State Treasury Minister's decision are being implemented successfully.
The PGE Management Board is convinced that all recommendations will be fulfilled so that the ownership changes will have no negative impact on the Club's image and its position in Poland's Premiere League. What is important is the guarantee that despite the ownership changes the Club's name, character and position in the local community and the region will be maintained.
The PGE Management Board hopes that the deadline of 31 March 2010 will be met, and the local authorities will support the current owner - PGE KWB Bełchatów S.A. - in their efforts to achieve this objective.
***
Additional information:
PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna is the largest power engineering company in Poland and one of the largest such companies in Central and Eastern Europe. Thanks to the combination of its own fuel (lignite) resources, power generation and final distribution networks, PGE guarantees a safe and reliable power supply to 5 million households, businesses and institutions. The company's net power generation amounts to about 56 TWh, which constitutes 42% of the national electricity output. The installed capacity equals 12.4 GW.
The PGE Capital Group has operated under its current structure since 2007. The PGE Capital Group's major areas of activity comprise the mining of lignite and generation of heat and electricity from conventional sources, the wholesale trade of electricity and related products, the retail sales of electricity and heat, the distribution of electricity as well as the generation of electricity from renewable sources.
Since 6 November 2009 PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A. has been one of the largest companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
GKS Bełchatów Sports Club was established on 26 November 1977. Until 31 January 2002 it operated as a sports association. Registered on 7 December 2001 as a sports public limited company, since 1 February 2002 it has operated under the business name of GKS "Bełchatów" SSA. The Club's sole shareholder is PGE Kopalnia Węgla Brunatnego Bełchatów Spółka Akcyjna. The sports company's registered office is located in Bełchatów, at 3 Sportowa Street. Its major business is sports activities. Since the 2007/08 season the Club's football team has played in Poland's Premier League under the name of PGE GKS Bełchatów.