The company will apply for a loan from a consortium made up of several banks, led by Citibank and ING, sources on the financial market have told Business Standard. The half billion euro loan is one of the largest financing operations ever made for a Romanian company. RCS&RDS Commercial Director, Ovidiu Ghiman, declined to provide details on the decision to give up listing.
The company requires funds to develop a nationwide 3G mobile network, an investment worth some €300 million.
The loan is a second option for the cable operator, as it recently announced plans to list on LSE. However, plans of several companies to list on the London capital market, the largest in Europe, have been given up, amid low interest shown by foreign investors for these companies.
The Rompetrol oil group, sold earlier this year by businessman Dinu Patriciu to the Kazakh state-owned KazMunayGaz, is also delaying a London listing, which has been discussed for several years. Pharma distributor and retailer A&D Pharma, already listed on LSE, has not enjoyed high liquidity.
RCS&RDS yesterday announced it has foregone listing plans for the time being, due to market conditions. According to the Bloomberg newswire, the same reason was given by Turkish digital TV station, Digiturk, for not listing.
"The London Stock Exchange is a large market, with many foreign investors and companies from around the world. Thus, Romanian companies have difficulties attracting funds, as they are not very visible. If they listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, they would attract a lot more money," according to brokerage agency Intercapital Invest's President, Razvan Pasol.
Last month, Business Standard wrote, quoting sources on the London capital market, that RDS&RCS listing was not certain, due to problems identified in the company's contracts. The operator's listing on LSE was initially scheduled for yesterday.
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