State-owned Romanian Post is due to be privatised with the majority stake in the company to besold, the country’s government decided last week.
As part of the approval to privatise the state postal operator, the government’s ministry ofcommunication decided to sell 51% of the shares instead of up to 25% as initially intended andestablished a legal framework to implement its privatisation strategy. This means that the Romanianstate will only keep a minority stake.
The government changed its mind over the size of the privatisation after consulting firm KMPGRomania advised ministers to grant a 51% stake in the company to potential investors in order toincrease proceeds from the transaction.
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 said.
Dan Nica, Minister of Communications and Information, highlighted the bill approval as animportant step in the company’s privatisation strategy. Its validation by the government providedthe best conditions to exploit the company’s capital and the shareholding position of the state inthe best possible way in the medium and long terms, he said.
“Recent amendments will enable an investor holding a 51% stake to invest financial and materialknow-how. This will contribute to diversification and increase the quality of services offered bythe company for the benefit of all customers,” Nica stressed.
He added that specialists recruited by the ministry along with selected consultants will begintalks with the potential investors in the coming months.
Romanian Post operates over 5,000 post office employing around 33,000 staff. The postal operatorwas loss-making in 2009 and 2010, according to its annual reports for those years.
