The draft strategy for the privatization of CFR Marfa will be approved by the Government Wednesday, he added.
According to the document, Romania’s government will sell a majority stake in the company, including the stake resulted from the conversion into shares of the company’s debts, through preliminary bidding negotiations followed by a sealed-bid auction.
The auction participation guarantee 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.
Romania 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.
The Transport Ministry expects to raise at least 268.75 million lei (EUR61.5 million) through the sale of a majority stake (51%) in CFR Marfa, and the sum does not include privatization costs estimated at RON22 million this year. (EUR1=RON4.3764)