Chelu now has to pay some EUR500,000 damages to a shareholder of dairy maker Lacta Giurgiu (INEM.RO), as he is in control of the company since 2008 but he has yet to file for takeover, law firm Zamfirescu Racoti Predoiu said Friday.
In October 2008, Scop Line and Goras Consulting, two companies acting in concert with Chelu, bought 44.4% in Lacta Giurgiu from SIF Oltenia (SIF5.RO), for 4.2 million lei (EUR964,962).
Even though the stake owned by Chelu was higher than 33%, where bylaws say a takeover offer needs to be filed, Chelu did not unfold such an operation. Securities regulator CNVM fined Chelu for this breach, but he has not launched a takeover offer to this day.
In exchange, he continued to buy stock in Lacta, reaching a 57.26% stake, according to reports on September 6.
Between October 2008 and November 16, 2011, when there was the latest trade in Lacta shares, the company’s stocks dropped to RON0.0752, from RON0.51.
Since there was no takeover offer filed, Scop Line and Goras Consulting were sued for damages.
The Bucharest Court decided to force the two companies to pay damages equaling the amount that the shareholder would have received under the takeover offer.
The court’s decision was upheld by the Bucharest Court of Appeals and the High Court of Justice. (EUR1=RON4.3525)