Salrom, Romania’s only salt producer, whose revenue amounts to 280 million lei (EUR63.3 million) a year, has a General Meeting of Shareholders scheduled for Friday, September 11, company management sources say. Fondul Proprietatea, which owns 49% in it, put the floatation of the company on the agenda of the meeting to be able to sell its stake, the sources added.
“We will not sell Salrom under any circumstances and if we do not, we will not have it listed on the stock exchange, either. Salrom is a strategic asset that must remain state-run because key sectors of the economy depend on it,” Economy Minister Mihai Tudose told ZF.
Salrom is the main supplier of industrial salt for several chemical plants such as Oltchim, Uzinele Sodice Govora and Chimcomplex and of salt used in snow removal by Romania’s national company in charge of highways and national roads (CNADNR) and the national railroad operator CFR.
“Fondul Proprietatea should make us an offer if it wants to sell. We won’t have the company listed just for the fund to sell its shares. We don’t have the same goals as Fondul Proprietatea. We want to keep the country in working order, while the fund, which gets a fee, wants to make profit.”
Salrom produced more than 2 million tons of salt last year, which puts it among the top ten producers in Europe. Fondul Proprietatea valued its 49% stake at RON142 million, according to its half-year report. (EUR1=RON4.4208)
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)