The prospectus for the IPO of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE) mentions the plot of land with a surface of 575 sqm, located at 44-46, Mareşal Averescu Boulevard, which has been recorded as a "tangible asset", but it does not specify whether it is indeed an "asset" (not just concerning its "tangibility" but its tangibility as well), because for almost a decade, the Stock Exchange has been unable to use it in any way - it can not build on it, nor can it sell it.
When it was still being hosted by the National Bank of Romania, the BSE acquired the land in question with the praiseworthy intention of building its own headquarters which would have made it truly stand by itself and would have allowed it to not abuse the generosity of the NBR (which supported the BSE every way it could).
However, the real estate is unkind to some; after the purchase, the right of ownership of the former owner of the plot of land was challenged in court.
Wouldn"t this mean that the plot of land should be listed under "assets with uncertain ownership"?
The prospectus mentions that the plot of land was intended to be used for the construction of a new headquarters for the stock exchange, but keeps mum on its unclear legal status.
Răzvan Paşol, the CEO of "Intercapital Invest", the brokerage firm selected to intermediate the public offering of the Stock Exchange, which authored the prospectus, stated for BURSA, that the litigation around the plot of land in question was not mentioned in the prospectus because the Stock Exchange did not provide any information on this matter.
"We drew up the prospectus using the information we got from the issuer. We couldn"t have included in the prospectus any more or any less than what they gave us. You have to ask them", Răzvan Paşol said.
But the members of the board of administration of the BSE whom we contacted di