Industry
State Capital Exits Polish Munitions Manufacturing Efforts [EXCLUSIVE]
Photo. St. Szer. Spec. Damian Łubkowski / 18th Mechanized Division
The Industrial Development Agency (ARP) has sold its shares in the company Polska Amunicja (Polish Ammunition) to the remaining members of the consortium, as Defence24 has found out. This means that the entity tasked with producing hundreds of thousands of shells for the Polish Armed Forces is now entirely in private hands. Additionally, TDM Electronics has sold its shares in the consortium, meaning that, as of today, the Polska Amunicja company is composed of WB Group and Ponar Wadowice.
The consortium was created to increase domestic production capacity for shells and propellant charges for 155 mm artillery, which is the most important type of artillery ammunition in NATO. The conflict in Ukraine demonstrated that a country like Poland would need millions of these shells.
According to available sources, the goal of the National Ammunition Reserve (pol. Narodowa Rezerwa Amunicyjna) program, for which the consortium is bidding, is to supply the military with 300,000 155 mm rounds and to build an ammunition factory. The total cost of these investments and purchases was estimated at around 12 billion zlotys.
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The Industrial Development Agency (ARP) had been designated by the previous government as the entity that would invest 51% of the funds into all the investments. This made the government agency the majority shareholder in the consortium, giving the state control over an investment of strategic importance. The remaining 49% was in the hands of private capital, grouped within WPT Holding. WPT consisted of three Polish companies with significant technical and business experience in the defense sector: WB Electronics, Ponar Wadowice, and TDM Electronics.
However, in August 2024, unofficial reports began to emerge about a conflict between the state-side ARP and the private consortium. Rumors suggested that the private entities were aiming to buy out the state’s shares in the consortium. It now appears that an agreement has been reached on this matter.
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I can confirm this. That stemmed from the company agreement which envisaged that the shareholders had a right to call option. The ARP did not express its readiness to build a munitions factory. The private owners want to build it. ARP did not respond to inquiries made, regarding that matter. The private shareholders waited for about a month, and finally concluded that there was no such readiness
Paweł Poncyljusz, CEO of Polska Amunicja
We asked the Industrial Development Agency for a comment on this matter, but so far have not received a response. Our sources assured us that a reply will come, and once it is received, we will publish it on our pages.