Romanian state nominates member of the Rothschild family for Electrica’s board

Baroness Arielle Malard de Rothschild, the managing director of Rothschild & Cie is one of the candidates nominated by Romania’s Energy Ministry for a place in Electrica’s administration board. Electrica is Romania’s largest electricity distributor and was listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange on July 4, after a EUR 444 million IPO. The state holds 49% of the company’s capital, while the remaining 51% is held by private investors, such as EBRD and local pension funds, who are expected to name their own representatives in the company’s board. The board is made of five members. Baroness de Rothschild has been managing director and vice president for Eastern Europe at Rothschild & Cie Banque since March 2006. She began her career in 1989 at the Lazard bank where she spent 10 years, working as adviser to the Foreign Governments Department. She joined Rothschild & Cie banque in 1999 where she set up and developed the Emerging Markets Department in Paris. She holds a doctor of economics from the Institut d'Études Politiques of Paris, with a postgraduate degree in currency, banking & finance from the Assas University (Paris). The shortlist of four candidates also includes Jorg Fabri, manager of German consultancy firm Allocate, Bogdan Iliescu, general manager of BRD Corporate Finance and Victor Cionga, managing partner of local consultancy firm AZ Capital Advisors and former CEO of Bucharest Stock Exchange. The state also has two spare candidates, in case one of the candidates on the shortlist were to withdraw or become ineligible. These are Bryan Jardine, partner with the Wolf Theiss lawfirm, and Ovidiu Chiorean, partner with investment banking and real estate firm Crosspoint. The election of the new board is very important as the state wants to make an example out of Electrica for future majority privatizations of state owned companies though the capital market. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which bought an 8.65% stake in the company in the IPO worked closely with state representatives on implementing European corporate governance rules in the company. The new board will also have some important decisions to make, such as a possible acquisition of an electricity distribution from Italy’s Enel, which announced its exit from the local market. Electrica’s board will also have to carry any future negotiations with investment fund Fondul Proprietatea for the minority stakes it holds in Electrica’s electricity distribution subsidiaries. Electrica has a market capitalization of EUR 868 million. The company ended the first half of 2014 with revenues of EUR 516.8 billion, down 12% year-on-year. Its net profit also dropped 6% to EUR 44.1 million.