According to Fenechiu, had the starting price been lower, more investors would have been interested in the company.
The offers are eligible and will be further analyzed, said Fenechiu. On May 15 the ministry will decide if bidders qualify for the second phase of the auction, he added.
U.S. company OmniTRAX, Romanian private freight railway carrier Grup Feroviar Roman (GFR) and a consortium of two companies filed papers for the prequalification phase of the auction to privatize CFR Marfa. The consortium is made up of Transferoviar Grup (TFG) and Donau-Finanz GmbH & Co KG Austria.
In April, Romania’s Transport Ministry extended the paper filing deadline for the prequalification phase of the auction by about two weeks, until May 8, and the winner of the auction would be announced on June 20. The initial bid filing deadline was April 22.
The Transport Ministry will auction off 51% of CFR Marfa in June and the starting price is 798.05 million lei (EUR180 million).
The procedure will include three phases: prequalification, negotiation based on preliminary non-binding offers and sealed-bid auction.