BCP Millenium and Erste Bank have entered the final for the privatization of BCR (the Romanian Commercial Bank). Deutsche Bank, the favorite of many analysts, is out. Now, the finalists have to negotiate and improve their offers.
BCP and Erste Bank have entered the final. They have to improve their offers. Who will offer more and who is more interested?
From the point of view of the assets, Erste is somewhat two times bigger than BCP, Banco Comercial Portugues - Portugal held, at the end of March this year, assets with a total value of 71.8 billion euros. Erste Bank de Oesterreichischen Sparkasen, Austria, had, on the 31st of March 2005, total assets of approximately 148 billion euros.
From the profitability point of view, the situation is equally balanced. In the first half of the year, BCP reached a profit of 302.9 million euros (363.2 million US dollars), 21% more than the profit in the same period of last year. Erste increased its flat profit for the first six months by 41%, to 335.7 million euros, in comparison to the same period of last year.
Besides Portugal, BCP also has subsidiaries in New York, Macau, the Cayman Islands and Luanda. Erste, on the other hand, has a regional structure with subsidiaries in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia.
THE KEY-STEP The negotiations are to take place next week. After that, AVAS (the National Agency for the Capitalization of the State Assets) will make the final contract and show it to the clients in its final form. The price isnât a decisive criterion in this moment. The contract might have clauses in the benefit or one of the other sides. "After the negotiations take place, with at least 8 days before the announced date for the submission of the improved offers, the selected bidders will be shown the final contract for the selling of the shares. If necessary,
