Hungary’s postal operator Magyar Posta has decided against acquiring a stake in Romanian Postwhich is due to be partly privatised.
The Romanian ministry of communication has started the first stage of privatising Posta Romanaand aims to sell 51% of the shares to an investor.
At the beginning of last week, Magyar Posta reportedly expressed interest in Romanian Post.After reviewing the opportunities and conditions related to the privatisation, however, it changedits decision, according to Hungarian news agency MTI.
Other postal operators from Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Sweden and the UK have reportedlyshowed interest in Romanian Post, according to diverse media reports.
In December 2012, the Romanian government decided to sell 51% of the shares instead of up to 25%as initially intended and established a legal framework to implement its privatisation strategy.This means that the Romanian state will only keep a minority stake.
As part of the so-called “pre-qualification stage”, the country’s ministers last week definedthe criteria that potential investors need to fulfil in order to be eligible and in order toeliminate candidates who don’t even meet the minimal requirements.
Among the requirements for the bidding process, the interested investors need to prove theavailability of funds for a capital contribution in cash worth at least €150 million. They canpurchase the dossier of the pre-qualification criteria in Romanian and English languages at theheadquarters of the communications ministry for €50,000 each as of March 11, 2013.
Dan Nica, Minister of Communications and Information, said: “We decided to organise a selectionprocess through which we can identify a strong, credible and professional investor who providesfinancial contribution and considerable expertise.” Therefore, the consulting firm KMPG Romaniadefined the pre-qualification and selection criteria very carefully. “Romanian Post will have thepotential for development and recovery as soon as we have successfully completed the privatisationprocess,” the minister said.
To participate in the selection process, interested investors will need to hand in theirdocuments by April 11, responding to pre-qualification requirements, and their presentation filesalong with a bidding bond amounting to €2.2 million.
Currently, 75% of Romanian Post shares belong to the country’s communications ministry and 25%to a national fund assisting the victims of the Communist regime.
The 51% share would give potential investors the right to control the financial and operatingdecisions of the Romanian Post as well as resources invested directly. The substantial capitalcontribution to be made by an investor is needed to finance the company’s investment programmes,the communication ministry had said earlier.
