BPost, sole bidder for state-owned Romanian Post

Belgian BPost is the only company interested in taking over Romania’s Post, and the state is currently negotiating with the Belgian company, said the country IT Society Minister Răzvan Cotovelea. The state-owned Romania post managed to bounce back from a EUR 8.6 million loss last year, to a profit of EUR 6.5 million, said the Minister, quoted by Agerpres. In the last four months alone, the Post’s profit stood at EUR 1.2 million, mostly after having won several new contracts in the last quarter. Despite the good results, the Post still needs some EUR 100 million to invest in equipment and in diversifying its services, and the funds can only be attracted via a privatization. BPost has filed a technical offer which will be soon analyzed, after which a financial offer will be submitted, and discussed with the Romanian state, the Minister explained. Romania could sell 51% of the 75% it owns in the Romanian Post. Investment fund Fondul Proprietatea owns the remainder 25%. The Post currently has 27,000 employees and is the largest employer in Romania. Romanian postal services market up 7.8% in 2013