KazMunayGas will buy Rompetrol shares state might sell if debt not paid

Kazakhstan’s KazMunayGas, the owner of Rompetrol group, is ready to buy back the shares the Romanian state could take over in Rompetrol Rafinare, according to the Rompetrol president Saduokhas Meraliyev. The state could do this if KazMunayGas will not pay its entire debt to the Romanian state. The state could sell the shares to third parties, but KazMunayGas has the preemption rights. "We haven't yet signed a final document regarding the debt. If the state takes over shares in Rompetrol Rafinare, then we can buy them back, because we have preemption rights," said Saduokhas Meraliyev, chief executive of Rompetrol. Rompetrol Rafinare, part of the Rompetrol group, has recently increased its share capital by USD 100 million to cover its debt to the state. The group needs to pay RON 2.4 billion (around EUR 558 million), which is the historical Petromidia debt following a bond issuance in 2003. KazMunayGas plans to invest USD 250 million in Rompetrol group this year in modernizing the company. KazMunayGas bough 75 percent in the Rompetrol group from Romanian investor Dinu Patriciu in 2007. Back then, the company was valued at USD 3.6 billion.