The Romanian state will launch the secondary public offering for 15 percent in state-owned electricity carrier Transelectrica at the beginning of March this year and investor subscription should be over by the end of the month. The offer on the Bucharest Stock Exchange will be managed by a consortium made of BCR, Intercapital Invest and Swiss Capital, the only bidders for the deal. Investors will have ten days to subscribe to the offer. Roadshows to London and two other European cities to attract foreign investors to the Bucharest Stock Exchange are also in plan. The prospect for this offer will be launched around March 1 and the potential start of the offer is March 5.

The Transelectrica offer is the first one on the Bucharest Stock exchange this year and comes after the state's failed attempt to sell a minority package in oil and gas company OMV Petrom. “The Transelectrica offer is a platform for the following offers. It is a very important test, a switch that can place the privatization train on the right track,” said Dan Weiler, head of Corporate Finance Investment Banking with BCR.

Transelectrica, which posted a preliminary net profit of EUR 21.2 million in 2011, nearly 10 times higher than the 2010 results, has an investment plan of EUR 920 million between 2010 and 2014.

The company's shares are listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (symbol TEL), trading at RON 17.7 a share on Wednesday ( February 15 ). Its maximum share price in the last 52 weeks was of RON 23.4. Based on the current share price, the company's capitalization is of EUR 300 million.

editor@romania-insider.com