Prime Minister Victor Ponta said in January the privatization of CE Oltenia was out of the question, considering that the company was profitable, had private management and planned significant investments. He added that 15% of the company’s shares would be listed on the Bucharest stock exchange.
The public offering of 15% in CE Oltenia will be launched before the end of October.
According to the document, the government will rethink its strategy regarding CE Oltenia without ruling out privatization, as the energy holding needs financing.
CE Oltenia was founded in 2012 following the merger of mining company Societatea Nationala a Lignitului Oltenia and energy producers Turceni, Craiova and Rovinari. It is 77.17%-owned by the Economy Ministry, while investment fund Fondul Proprietatea (FP.RO) owns 21.53%.
The company mulls total investments of EUR1.2 billion between 2013 and 2018 and has yet to attract EUR396 million of the needed funds.