Fondul Proprietatea (FP) is the largest Romanian private investment fund. FP said that it is planning to sell 3 % stake in oil and gas company OMV Petrom and this offer was increased from the initial proposal of 2.47 % stake.
The statement from the fund said that it will offer some 1.7 billion of OMV Petrom’s shares to institutional investors. With the agreed price of 0.068 euros per share, the transaction will amount to a total of 115 million euros. FP currently holds 9.9985 % stake in OMV Petrom, which will be reduced to 6.9973 % following this transaction. Citigroup Global Markets Limited and WOOD & Company Financial Services will act as joint bookrunners in the offering.
In 2017, FP already sold a part of its stake in the largest Romanian oil and gas company – 2.57 % stake for some 82 million euros. FP initially held 20 % stake in OMV Petrom, but it has started to divest since 2013.
Fondul Proprietatea needs cash to finance its share buyback programs aimed at reducing the gap between the fund’s share price and the net asset value per share, which is currently close to 19 %. The fund manager’s options for getting cash are rather limited, given that unlisted companies make.
70 % of the fund’s portfolio. As the listing of electricity producer Hidroelectrica will probably be postponed for another two years, Fondul Proprietatea will continue to rely on OMV Petrom for quick cash. Still, the fund has agreed to a 180-day lock-up period in which it will not sell any OMV Petrom shares after this transaction.
OMV Petrom is the biggest oil and gas company in Romania, controlled by the Austrian OMV Group which holds 51 % stake. The Romanian state also holds a 20.6 % stake in the company. OMV Petrom has a market capitalization of over 4.1 billion euros.
