RCS&RDS seeks some $600 mln on the LSE

RCS&RDS shareholders approved at the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on August 7, 2007 the listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) of global depository receipts (GDR), made up exclusively of existing preferred nominal shares with fixed dividends and no voting rights, and shares newly issued following the increase in capital approved in that same meeting.

According to the EGM, these shares will not exceed 25 percent of the total RCS&RDS shares, according to Romania’s Official Gazette. RCS&RDS may obtain over $600 million from issuing GDRs, according to analysts contacted by Business Standard. The EGM decided that the first issue will be at $5.15/share (€3.63/share) for subscriptions by current shareholders when exercising their preference right.

RCS&RDS shareholders decided to increase share capital by issuing 77.9 mln in new nominal shares with fixed dividends, at RON 0.1/share (€0.029/share), totaling some €2.2 mln. The company’s market value currently amounts to $2.1 billion (€1.48 bln). The above decision is expected to raise the company’s value to $2.57 bln (€1.81 bln).

According to data published in the Official Gazette, shareholders will have to pay at least 30 percent of the nominal value of the subscribed newly-issued shares at subscription, as well as the entire issuance premium of all subscribed shares by one shareholder, while the 70 percent difference will be paid within 30 days of subscription.

Company officials said they are continuing the listing process but are unable to provide more details due to the strict company communication policy rules.

RCS&RDS is a major player on the Romanian cable television market, whose majority shareholder is businessman Zoltan Teszari, who owns 60 percent of the shares. The company posted net sales worth RON 781 mln (some €221 mln) in 2006 and a net profit of RON 112 mln (€34.82 mln).