Erste, BCR, Goldman Sachs and Raiffeisen Capital&Investment have signed the contract to intermediate the listing of 15 percent in Romania's gas company Romgaz on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) later this year. The offer, evaluated at some EUR 400 million, could be the highest in the history of the BVB, and will bring the consortium a 1.16 percent commission of the value of the transaction.

Two other consortia had submitted offers for Romgaz. One was led by JP Morgan, together with Unicredit London, Unicredit CA IB Securities, Alpha Bank and Alpha Finance, while the other one, by Citi, together with BRD, Société Générale and ING. The winning consortium, led by Erste, asked for a lower commission.

Goldman Sachs is also in the race to intermediate another listing of a state company: Hidroelectrica. It has partnered Erste and BCR again, as well as UniCredit and BT Securities. Competitor Citi has allied with Société Générale, BRD and Intercapital Invest. A winner for the listing of 10 percent in Hidroelectrica should be soon announced.

Goldman Sachs previously brokered the privatization of Romtelecom in 1997, which in the end received only one offer, from current shareholders OTE. The company has recently hit the headlines after an employee for 12 years, Greg Smith, wrote an op-ed in the new York Times, criticizing the firm's 'toxic and destructive environment'. Read the full article here.

Romania's Romgaz, which posted a record profit of EUR 180 million last year and turnover of EUR 955 million, is officially valued at some EUR 1.8 billion in the portfolio of Fondul Proprietatea investment fund, which owns 15 percent of its shares.

editor@romania-insider.com