According to the information in the Official Gazette, RCS&RDS now owns 90% in Firatelectric, a company initially registered in Braila (SE Romania) but now sharing the same address as the telecom firm.
The business of the newly acquired company is electrical power generation and it also has an office in Insuratei, Braila County where RCS&RDS is already developing a 5 MW solar PV project, according to the data of national grid company Transelectrica.
The remaining 10% in Firatelectric is held by Dan-Mihai Gheorghita, the same man who was on the list of founders of Energyall Distribtion SRL and Energiafoto SRL that RCS&RDS bought at the end of last year.
These are RCS&RDS’ first steps outside the telecom and media industry. The move came at a time when many say solar PV investments could be the next green power boom after over EUR3 billion investments in wind farms in the last three years.
Romania had 49 MW operational in solar farms at the end of last year, according to Transelectrica data, after EUR64 million to EUR74 million investments. Hardly a week goes by without news about new solar PV projects becoming operational or pending completion.
RCS&RDS posted EUR479 million in revenue in Romania alone in 2011. Businessman Zoltan Teszari directly and indirectly owns about 43% in RCS&RDS, according to information published by the company before a floatation attempt on the London Stock Exchange.
It is the largest TV and fixed Internet provider and the second leading landline telephony provider in Romania.
RCS&RDS’ annual revenue stands at more than $700 million generated by its operations in Romania, Italy, Spain and other Central and Eastern European markets.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)