“We now have some €28 mln in our accounts, amount that comes from the sale of stocks we had in [aluminum products factory] Altur. A lot of money is necessary to get a large percentage of Transgaz. Otherwise, the situation would be similar to that at [power distributor] Transelectrica, where we signed for RON 40 mln (some €11.5 mln) and we bought very few shares. We intend to purchase as many shares as possible in Transgaz,” SIF Oltenia manager, Teodor Buzatu, told Business Standard. SIF Muntenia’s bank deposits amount to €21.6 million, money the company reserves for acquisitions in Transgaz.
“We are very interested in such offers and some of the money we have will go to Transgaz,” said SIF Muntenia manager, Petre Pavel Szel. By the end of August, the five financial investment companies had bank deposits of €127 mln (RON 406 mln). SIF Transilvania had the largest deposits - €38.8 mln, followed by SIF Banat-Crisana, and SIF Moldova - €13.7 mln. Transgaz Media; will list a 10 percent share package on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) - 1,177 mln shares, with a rated value of RON 10 per share.
Transelectrica was the first company listed by the Romanian state on BVB, also with a 10 percent share of its capital, as part of a government strategy of selling small participations in several companies like Transgaz, Romgaz, Nuclearelectrica and Hidroelectrica. SIF Muntenia bought 1.25 mln shares in the initial public offer, worth RON 21 mln (some six million euros), while SIF Moldova invested RON 5.04 mln in 300,000 shares.
