June 11 (Bloomberg) -- Zdenek Bakala, the billionaire Czech coal baron, said he may make acquisitions in the rail industry and raise funds with initial public offerings.

There are ``significant opportunities'' in regional railways as the Czech Republic and neighboring countries consider selling freight train operators, Bakala said in a June 3 interview with Bloomberg Television in Prague.

Subsidiaries of RPG Industries SE, the holding company in which Bakala is the biggest single shareholder, may sell stock, he said. RPG is the majority owner of New World Resources NV, the coal producer that held Prague's biggest IPO on May 6.

``We hope to grow our rail company via acquisitions to become a significant player, a company that is able to compete on equal terms with national carriers,'' Bakala said. He declined to identify acquisition targets. ``Within 18 months, we will be in a position to start an IPO project with one of our investing companies,'' he said.

NWR, in which RPG retains a 64 percent stake, sold stock in Prague, London and Warsaw, raising 1.3 billion pounds ($2.6 billion). Shares sold in the IPO represented about 36 percent of NWR, valuing it at 3.6 billion pounds.

Shares Advance

NWR has risen 14 percent in trading in the Czech capital. Bakala said he may conduct another IPO and foresees acquisitions in his home country, Slovakia and Poland. Regional governments are selling assets to fund public spending and pensions.

``Within the next 18 months we will start formulating the first plans,'' Bakala said.

Bakala, 47, was the second-richest Czech in 2007, Tyden reported last year. He was head of Credit Suisse First Boston's Czech desk between 1990 and 1994 and set up the bank's Prague office in 1991. In 1994, Bakala founded brokerage Patria, which was sold to KBC Groep NV in 2001.

RPG, based in Cyprus, also owns RPG Real Estate unit. Another subsidiary is OKD Doprava Akciova Spolecnost, the rail division. The rail unit's reorganization will be completed by year-end, and then it will be ``prepared to start considering acquisitions,'' Bakala said.

He declined to identify companies within RPG that may be considered for a share sale. A future IPO isn't likely to match the size of NWR's, he said.

Real-Estate Holdings

RPG's real estate includes about 45,000 apartments, mainly in the Czech Republic's Ostrava region. While lower real-estate prices, brought on by the credit crisis, have created buying opportunities, it's not a good time to sell shares of property companies, Bakala said.

``I don't believe it would be possible to consider floating a real estate company,'' Bakala said. ``We will have to wait at least 2 to 3 years.''

RPG is ``actively developing several transactions'' in the Balkans, Bakala said without elaborating. It's also ``closely'' watching the planned sale of Polish state-owned mining assets, he said.

NWR fell 14.5 koruna, or 2.8 percent, to 507.5 koruna ($32.34) in Prague trading.

NWR, which is registered in Amsterdam, said on May 30 first-quarter net income more than quadrupled. Coal production rose 9 percent to 3.64 million metric tons. Supply in the region isn't able to meet demand, the company said.

NWR is the Czech Republic's biggest supplier of coking coal used by steelmakers. The raw material's price has tripled in the past year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Andrea Dudikova in Prague at adudikova@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 11, 2008 11:19 EDT