First Reserve, AMCI Buy 19% Of Czech Coal Mining Co OKD

Prague, November 2005 /Dow Jones/ — First Reserve Corp. (FRCORP.XX), the U.S.-based private equity firm, and American Metals and Coal International, or AMCI, a privately-held mining company Wednesday said they have jointly bought a 19% stake in major Czech coal producer OKD AS.

The two companies bought the OKD stake from RPG Industries Ltd., a privately-held company which is the majority owner of OKD.

Financial details of the transaction weren’t disclosed.

“Going forward, RPG, First Reserve and AMCI intend to jointly review and invest in energy-related businesses in Central and Eastern Europe,” RPG Industries said in a statement.

OKD has been eyeing expansion to Poland, where it wants to bid for coal mines earmarked for privatization by the government.

OKD produces more than 12 million metric tons of low- sulfur coal a year and about 2 million metric tons of coke.

Last year, OKD posted consolidated revenue of about 54 billion koruna ($1=CZK24.712), RPG Industries said.

Lead shareholders of the Cyprus-registered RPG Industries are former Czech investment banker Zdenek Bakala and Crossroads, a London-based private equity firm.

Bakala emigrated from the-then communist Czechoslovakia to the U.S. in 1980. When Bakala returned to his homeland in 1990, he founded Patria Finance investment bank and later sold it KBC Group NV (KBC.BT) for a price that wasn’t disclosed but was estimated by analysts at CZK800 million.

OKD Web site: http://www.okd.cz

By Leos Rousek, Dow Jones Newswires; +420 221 085 273; leos.rousek@dowjones.com

Corrected November 3, 2005 04:51 ET (09:51 GMT) [ 11-02-05 1257ET ]

When Bakala returned to his homeland in 1990, he founded Patria Finance investment bank and later sold it KBC Group NV (KBC.BT) for a price that wasn’t disclosed but was estimated by analysts at CZK800 million.

Media Contact:
Alan Katz
Cubitt Jacobs & Prosek for First Reserve Corp.
212-279-3115 ext. 211
alan@cjpcom.com