“We hope to reach an agreement before a court sentence is passed,” Ponta told reporters.
In October 2003, Romania’s government issued an ordinance turning the state budget liabilities of Rompetrol’s refinery Rompetrol Rafinare (RRC.RO) into seven-year bonds worth $603 billion, including interest and penalties.
The bonds were to be bought back by September 2010, but Rompetrol only bought back bonds worth $71 million and decided to convert into shares another 20.6 million bonds to fuel a capital increase.
Following the conversion, the state has received a stake of 44.59% in Rompetrol Rafinare, while the Rompetrol Group’s holding in the refinery decreased to 54% from 99% previously.
The Romanian authorities were unhappy with the move and filed a legal action to have the capital increase annulled, but Rompetrol has won a first battle in court in July 2011.
“Rompetrol’s offer was hard to accept. The negotiations are ongoing and we hope we can reach an understanding until Monday (when a new court date is scheduled – e.n.),” Ponta said.
“Otherwise, the court will decide for us and, based on its decision, there might be repercussions.”
In an interview for Bloomberg last week, Rompetrol said it hoped to buy back Romania’s shares “as soon as possible.” Following the announcement, Rompetrol Rafinare’s shares gained over 67% at 0.0581 lei (EUR0.0132) a share in Bucharest. The company’s market value increased to RON2.56 billion (EUR582 million), from RON1.53 billion before the interview.
Rompetrol, Romania’s second largest oil group, is wholly owned by Kazakh state-run oil and gas company KazMunayGas. (EUR1=RON4.387)