At stake are EUR516 million, the value of the bonds that Rompetrol’s refining arm Rompetrol Rafinare (RRC.RO) did not buy back from the Romanian state, but converted into shares through a shareholders’ decision, on September 30, 2010.
Rompetrol Rafinare is controlled by the Rompetrol group, held by Kazakh company KazMunaiGaz. The Kazakhs bought Rompetrol from Dinu Patriciu, along with Petromidia’s debts, in 2007. Rompetrol Rafinare bonds, worth EUR571 million, were issued in 2003 by the Adrian Nastase Government. The bonds were convertible into shares, but the Finance Ministry says they could be bought or converted only in their entirety, whereas the Kazakhs bought back some of the shares (EUR54 million worth of shares) and converted the rest.
Had all the bonds been converted into shares, the state would have become a majority shareholder. The state last year received around 45% in Petromidia.
Rompetrol’s lawyers in this case are NNDKP (Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen) and Tuca Zbarcea si Asociatii.