SIF Oltenia (SIF5.RO), the only one that did not sell its BCR stake now owns 6.297% in the bank, which is worth some RON300 million to RON400 million.
Four of the SIFs, Banat-Crisana (SIF1.RO), Moldova, Transilvania (SIF3.RO) and Muntenia (SIF4.RO) sold their 6% stakes in BCR in 2011 collecting RON123.6 million in cash and 1% of Erste stock (4 million shares) each, valued at some EUR82.5 million at the time the deal was announced. SIF Oltenia is the only one that did not sell its BCR stake even though it had signed the initial agreement with Austria’s Erste Bank, the majority shareholder. It did participate in the capital increase of BCR in 2011, though, and upped its stake to 6.29%.
Three years down the line, Erste Bank shares are trading again at the same price as in 2011, about EUR20. Yet the situation of the two banks is much different from 2011.
The Erste Group posted EUR1.48 billion loss in the first nine months, due to the bad-loan provisions. The BCR group posted record net loss of RON2.4 billion for the same period, as bad-debt cleanup process costs tripled in the third quarter.
SIF Banat-Crisana still has 2.94 million Erste Bank shares (valued at EUR58 million), while the rest of the SIFs sold theirs over the last two years.
SIF Moldova made RON639.3 million from the sale of the 6% in BCR, ZF has calculated based on the reports on the net asset and updated holdings of the SIF. It got RON160 million in cash (ROIN123.6 million from the sale, adjusted by about 9%, the annual average yield of the stock market in the last three years assuming the money was invested in the capital market). The remaining RON470 million came from the sale of Erste shares adjusted by 9%, the average annual yield of the stock market, as well.
SIF Muntenia and SIF Transilvania made more than RON600 million each. They got about RON450 million from their sale of Erste shares each (updated value).
SIF Banat-Crisana got about RON126.6 million from the sale of Erste Bank shares, according to ZF’s calculations based on the net asset reports of the company.
SIF Oltenia did not sell its BCR stake, which accounts for more than 25% of its net asset, according to its reports by September 30. SIF Oltenia chairman Tudor Ciurezu told ZF early this year that the bank had not had a convincing performance over the last few years and the shares could not be sold for maximum profit. He added he had not negotiated anything with Erste since March 2013. It remains to be seen whether the bank’s value remains unchanged in the coming years.
SIF Oltenia currently values its 6.29% BCR stake at RON423 million. The book value of BCR is now RON5.115 billion, according to the bank’s nine-month financial statements. Judging by this, SIF Oltenia’s stake should be worth about RON322 million. Taking into account the multiple at which BRD shares are traded today compared with their book value, 1.07, SIF Oltenia would only get RON344 million, almost half of what the other four SIFs got.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)