The offering is on schedule and will be conducted in April, as Prime Minister Victor Ponta and Economy Minister Varujan Vosganian promised at the beginning of the year, say the sources.
The offering will be brokered by a consortium made up of Raiffeisen Capital & Investment, BT Securities and Wood (the Czech Republic).
Transgaz has been listed on the Bucharest stock exchange since 2008 and has a market capitalization of EUR570 million. The 15% stake to be put up for sale is currently worth EUR85.5 million. The company last year had a turnover of 1.33 billion lei (EUR298 million) and a net profit of RON329 million (EUR74 million).
The Transgaz offering is the second one in the program of privatizations agreed by the Romanian state with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The first was the offering to sell 15% in Transelectrica, conducted in March 2012, in which the state raised EUR37 million.
Although it is important as a signal, the Transgaz offering will not have major effects on the stock exchange.
Only the listing of major state-run companies, such as Romgaz, Nuclearelectrica and Hidroelectrica, could generate more interest for the Bucharest stock exchange from investors.
(English version by Daniela Stoican)