The state holds 20.64% in Petrom, while Fondul Proprietatea (FP.RO) owns 19% after it sold a 1.1% stake in Petrom at a 6% discount on the market stock price at the time. In November the EBRD sold its entire 1.6% stake in Petrom at 0.42 lei/share, with the discount being around 6.4%.
Looking at Petrom’s shareholder structure, Erste expects the two key shareholders, Fondul Proprietatea and the Romanian Government, to sell shares in the future. The fund is interested in selling shares in order to pay dividends to its own shareholders, while the Government could consider a secondary offering, reads an Erste report.
The state tried before, in June 2011, to sell a 9.84% stake in Petrom, but did not find enough buyers at the desired price (RON0.37) at a time when bourses were in crisis. But Erste analysts also say Petrom’s current free-float, of 9.4%, evaluated on the bourse at EUR545 million, is still small for many financial investors and a higher free-float could attract larger investors, such as global emerging funds.
Erste raised its price target for Petrom shares from RON0.47 to RON0.5027, but its recommendation is “hold”. On the stock exchange Petrom shares closed on Thursday at RON0.4585, with the company’s capitalization being EUR5.81 billion.
(English version by Daniela Stoican)