At that time shareholders are set to decide on the lifting of voting restrictions and the listing of the fund on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. By then, the state is likely to be left with no shares in Fondul Proprietatea.
The entire market is looking forward to the Fund’s next shareholder meeting, as this will be a first signal on the balance of power inside its shareholder structure after the Romanian state lost control.
In the eight months since listing, the state has transferred 30% of Fondul Proprietatea shares to people entitled to compensations; 20% of these shares have changed hands in the meantime so that they are now owned by foreign funds. Thus, the next general meeting of shareholders may reveal the intentions of these funds that took over significant stakes in the fund.
Greg Konieczny, Fondul Proprietatea manager, told ZF that the next general shareholder meeting would “most likely” be held in November. The date, however, did not depend on the government’s stake but on the preliminary approval of the National Securities Commission (CNVM).
The 6.17% stake the government owns in the fund through the Finance Ministry, which is expected to be used up for compensations by October, makes it government the biggest direct institutional shareholder, but does not give it any control.
To hold control over decisions and make sure the very purpose the fund was created for is maintained, the government limited the voting rights of private shareholders. By law, the government set that as long as it holds more than 33% in the capital, the voting rights of the other shareholders will be limited.
Besides lifting voting restrictions, useless now that the state holds just 6.17% in the fund, the manager also has other changes to the articles of incorporation in the pipeline. Asked by ZF about the nature of these changes, the manager said he would not comment on the concrete changes proposed, but that they would be included in the general shareholder meeting notice and published on the Fund’s website at least 30 days in advance.
In November, the manager will also propose to shareholders that the fund be listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange after the Bucharest listing failed to bring shareholders a good share price.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)