A share package of around 1.3 percent in Romanian investment fund Fondul Proprietatea was sold in a deal worth some EUR 21 million on Thursday (September 20 ). A similar size share package changed hands the day before for a very small difference in price. Major shareholders in the fund are Elliott Associates, with 15.4 percent of the shares, and the City of London, with 9.8 percent of the shares. The bulk of the fund is owned by institutional investors. The largest individual shareholder is Georgia Palade van Dusen, with 4.93 percent of the shares.

The recent deal values the fund at some EUR 1.6 billion. Fondul Proprietatea is listed on the main market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, with a secondary listing at the Warsaw Stock Exchange planned for late 2012.

Fondul Proprietatea was created in 2005 as a joint stock company with a special purpose to provide compensation to people whose real estate assets had been confiscated by the Romanian state during the communist regime and who can no longer receive restitution in kind. The Romanian investment fund posted a profit of around EUR 128 million in 2011, and is listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, symbol FP.

The fund’s portfolio is focused on the electrical energy sector, oil and natural gas – around 88 percent of its net assets. The biggest unlisted company in its portfolio of shares is Hidroelectrica, while the biggest listed company where Fondul Proprietatea owns shares is OMV Petrom.

editor@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Agerpres)