Austrian oil group OMV was, as expected, after all, the only bidder selected by the Romanian authorities for the sale of the 51% majority stake in Petrom. OMV is getting ready to make its first acquisition of an oil company in the region, which will upset the balance of power already in place in the Eastern half of Europe; the Austrians will thus turn from a company the size of MOL or PKN into a small giant whose overall sales reach approximately 10bn euros.
Until this actually happens, the Austrians need to take the most important step of the transaction, namely pay the price for the takeover of the controlling interests in Petrom. To own Petrom, OMV should pay 600 to 850 million euros at first to get 33.34% in it. All in all, the transaction may amount to 1 - 1.4bn euros, as soon as the strategic investor operates the capital increase. This should be the price of the biggest privatisation ever concluded in Romania.
"Following analysis of the final bids submitted by investors (OMV - Austria, Occidental - US, MOL - Hungary), and based on the recommendations of the privatisation consultant, which comprises the Credit Suisse First Boston - ING Bank consortium and the legal advisory firm Linklaters, the privatisation committee proposed the Economy Ministry and the Office for State's Interests and Privatisation (OPSPI) to begin direct talks with OMV in line with the privatisation strategy endorsed. The purpose of the talks is to reach an agreement on the final version of the privatisation contract to be signed soon," Dan Ioan Popescu, Economy and Trade Minister and chairman of the privatisation committee, announced at the end of last week.
The consultant's representatives added MOL and Occidental had submitted binding bids for Petrom, but they lacked "a few documents", though the main problem was a "substance issue."
