Romania is set to launch a public process for hiring a consultant for the sale of its 45.99% stake in incumbent telco Romtelecom.
An official with the Ministry of Communications and Information Society, via which the state owns its stake, said the…
Romania is set to launch a public process for hiring a consultant for the sale of its 45.99% stake in incumbent telco Romtelecom.
An official with the Ministry of Communications and Information Society, via which the state owns its stake, said the government would prefer to hire either an investment bank or a consortium made up of an investment bank and a legal adviser for the sales process.
At present, the ministry intends to list the shares on the Bucharest Stock Exchange but a final decision will be made together with the consultant, when appointed. The consultant will also help to decide upon a timeframe for the sales process.
Romtelecom shares have a nominal value of RON10 (US$3) each, valuing the 45.99% stake at RON146.5m (US$44.3m), the spokesperson confirmed.
According to local publication Ziarul Financiar, the state first attempted to complete the privatisation of Romtelecom, in which Greek telco OTE has a majority 54.01% stake, in 2005 and tried again in 2008. In 2011, the ministry and OTE reportedly agreed to list the telco on the stock exchange, but this never eventuated.
According to OTE, Romtelecom’s revenues dropped 9.2% in Q1 2013 to €145.5m. Pro Forma EBITDA was down 2.2% to €39.5m.
