The guarantee to participate in the auction is the equivalent in lei of EUR10 million, or 17% of the face value of the shares owned by the state, and the participation fee is the equivalent in lei of EUR20,000, reads the document.
The Transport Ministry will sell its majority stake in CFR Marfa, including the stake resulted from the conversion into shares of the company’s debts, according to the draft act.
The CFR Marfa privatization commission will include seven Transport Ministry representatives, one Defense Ministry representative and one Finance Ministry representative.
Prime Minister Victor Ponta said Tuesday the privatization strategy targeting CFR Marfa would include several auction participation conditions regarding bidders’ turnover, experience in the field and financial resources. The strategy would be discussed by the country’s supreme defense council CSAT on February 5 and would be approved by the Government the following day, he added.
Romania’s government has pledged to sell a majority stake in CFR Marfa by mid-May, with the deal to be complete once “all conditions in the sale-purchase agreement are satisfied,” according to the country’s latest letter of intent to an international loan program.
Under a EUR3.6 billion loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund, the government has pledged to sell shares in several key state-run companies, including Transgaz (TGN.RO), CFR Marfa, natural gas producer Romgaz and nuclear power company Nuclearelectrica.
CFR Marfa was supposed to be auctioned by the end of 2012, but the sale was delayed due to poor market conditions and regulatory proceedings. The government hired a consortium comprising U.S. consultancy firm Deloitte, Musat&Asociatii and France’s Systra to advise on the sale.