Dumitrascu did not say exactly when the deal would be completed, but, according to the latest information, the auction should take place this year. Sources quoted by Mediafax said that several companies were interested in the 26% stake in Rompetrol Rafinare, among which an Arabian company, and the sale was going to be one of the most important privatization deals in 2014.
The Kazakh owners of KazMunayGas, which owns the Rompetrol group that holds the Petromidia refinery in the Black Sea Coast city of Navodari on Wednesday said they were willing to pay $200 million of the total $688 million they had to repay. At the beginning of the year they had said the $200 million was “the highest possible price.”
The memorandum between the Romanian government and Rompetrol was approved by a government decision published in the Official Gazette on January 23, 2014.
“To conduct the privatization process of Rompetrol Rafinare, the strategy for the privatization of this economic operator will be launched in soon in view of approval,” said Gabriel Dumitrascu, general, head of the privatization department with the Department for Energy.
The government decision draft approving the sale will explain how the sale will be done, he added. The stake will be sold by public bidding to any investor interested and the majority shareholder, The Rompetrol Group (Netherlands), will be given preference.
Dumitrascu says a licensed valuator will be chosen for this auction, which will draw up a report to decide the value of the stake.
“In conclusion, the main steps of the sale of the 26.69% stake in Rompetrol Rafinare are the passing of a normative act approving the privatization strategy, devising the privatization documents, selecting a licensed valuator by tender, drawing up the valuation report, publication of the privatization ad and the actual sale of the stake.”
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)