“We have the money, we wouldn’t have submitted a bid if we didn’t. The money comes from our own sources and bank loans. It’s a large sum that not everyone can afford but GFR is a bankable private company, solid, with not debts to the sate, and profitable,” said Stoica.
He added the larger part of the funds will come from a syndicated loan from several banks but declined to give further details.
GFR is the only bidder left in the privatization process for 51% of CFR Marfa, after the consortium of Romanian Transferoviar Grup and Austrian Donau-Finanz GmbH & Co KG Austria announced earlier Wednesday it was pulling its bid.
Earlier this week, U.S. company OmniTRAX whose documents to participate in the sale of CFR Marfa were recently rejected by the Transport Ministry, contested the privatization procedure and asked for the process to be resumed.
The deadline for bid submission was Wednesday at noon and the winner is to be announced Thursday.
Grampet group, which includes GFR, had a turnover of more than EUR420 million last year. “Freight transport operations alone posted EUR215 million last year, excluding our foreign subsidiaries,” said Stoica.
The group is the largest private rail transporter in Romania and one of the main competitors in central and southeast Europe, with transport and logistical services in several European countries.
In its latest letter of intent to the International Monetary Fund, Romania pledged to select a buyer for CFR Marfa on June 21, while highlighting that the completion of the transaction depends on meeting all requirements included in the privatization contract.