The Romanian authorities are also interested in how the shares of Romgaz will perform after the IPO, given that the Romanian state will remain a majority shareholder, and as a result they want to have a mechanism for the stabilization of the price.

Gabriel Dumitraşcu, the head of the Privatization Division of the Energy Department, told us that, for the first time, the listing of Romgaz will bring a stabilization mechanism. This mechanism will also mean that about 15-20% of the shares allocated for the IPO will be given to a brokerage firm, which will trade them after the listing, to avoid major fluctuations of the price of the Romgaz stock.

Goldman Sachs, the intermediary of the listing of Romgaz, will issue GDRs (global depositary receipts) specifically for the producer of natural gas owned by the state, said Gabriel Dumitraşcu, the head of the privatization department of the Department for Energy. Thus, the price of certificates that will be traded on the London Stock Exchange will fluctuate strictly depending on the price of the shares and the performance of Romgaz.

The official of the Energy Department yesterday said, in a press conference, that Romanian investors are expected to invest approximately 200-220 million Euros in the shares of Romgaz. The Romanian authorities have decided to structure the offer of Romgaz in shares listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE) and GDRs in London. The IPO will begin at the end of October and will conclude in November.

Gabriel Dumitraşcu said: "The Romanian market is not willing to place significant amounts in Romgaz. Pre-marketing showed us that Romanian investors will spend about 200-220 million Euros in the offer of Romgaz. We want to sell 15% of the shares of the company, and our target is to raise a maximum of 600 million Euros. The difference will need to be raised from foreign investors". @