SIF Oltenia quit the Ford business with a €15 mln profit

The SIF Oltenia (SIF5) financial investment company yesterday sold the Automobile Craiova (AUCS) share package for €18 million, thus ending its war with Ford, the majority shareholder of AUCS. “We sold at a price that is unsatisfactory, but in this way we will be able to ensure the payment of dividends to shareholders and make investments on the market. We had not planned to sell at this time, but were forced to,” said Dinel Staicu, Chairman of SIF Oltenia. According to the company’s management, SIF Oltenia paid some RON 2.5 per share for its Automobile Craiova package, and, following the transaction, SIF Oltenia’s profit amounts to some RON 65 mln (some €15 mln). “We have been a shareholder of Automobile Craiova since it was established. We acquired the shares at an average RON 2.5 per unit, and the difference is SIF Oltenia’s profit from this deal,” said Tudor Ciurezu, Vice Chairman of SIF5. According to the company’s management, the money obtained from the sale of the share package will be used to pay dividends for the financial year 2008. At the beginning of this month, a group of shareholders requested that a proposal regarding the distribution of a gross dividend worth RON 0.06 per share be added to the General Shareholders Meeting agenda. Thus, the total value of dividends would exceed €8 mln. SIF Oltenia will receive RON 75 mln (€17.9 mln) from the U.S. Ford Motor Company auto giant for the share package. As of this transaction, Ford controls some 95 percent of the factory’s capital, and could now request that the company be delisted from the Stock Exchange. Ford became a shareholder of Automobile Craiova in the second half of 2007, after paying €57 mln to the state for the 72.4 percent majority package.