Poland was smart when, last December, it cancelled the sale of its telecom monolith, Telekomunikacja Polska (TPSA), in the country's biggest privatisation. Poland wanted to sell up to 35% of TPSA to a strategic investor but its only offer by the first offer date was from France Telecom, which had offered 23 Polish zlotys (E5.75) a share, valuing the stake at $2.8bn .

TPSA's shares were then trading at 19 zlotys. So there was some surprise that the Polish government pulled the tender saying that France Telecom's offer was too low. But it seems the government was spot on because, within days of calling for a new tender by February 11, TPSA's shares have shot up, hitting 29/60 zlotys at one point last week.