Fondul Proprietatea lists on the Bucharest Stock Exchange its participation in Hidroelectrica, estimated at over 12 billion lei (approx. $2.5 billion)

By RBJ
Fondul Proprietatea shareholders voted for the listing of Hidroelectrica on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, Johan Meyer, the general manager of Franklin Templeton Bucharest, said on Tuesday, in a press conference held after the Extraordinary and Ordinary General Meeting of FP Shareholders.
“We had the approval of the shareholders at the AGM and practically this was a very important milestone in this process and in the Fund’s history. 78% of the net value of the assets means an important transaction not only for the Fund, but also for BVB and for Romania. That’s why it is a satisfactory result. We may have differences of opinion when it comes to the stock exchange listing, but we always have to make decisions in the interests of the shareholders and the Fund manager in order for the process to go well. We have a clear mandate from the shareholders that the listing should take place at the BVB”, declared Johan Meyer.
According to a FP report, submitted to the Bucharest Stock Exchange, the Fund’s shareholders decided, within the AGEA, to approve Point 3 on the AGEA agenda, namely “Approval of the sale of the shares held by the Company in the share capital of SPEEH Hidroelectrica SA (Hidroelectrica) , representing up to 19.94% of the total shares issued by Hidroelectrica, through a secondary public offering of shares issued by Hidroelectrica, followed by the admission of these shares to trading (“Listing”) only on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The sums of money resulting in following the partial or full sale of the share package in the respective secondary public offering will be distributed to the Company’s shareholders in the form of a special dividend within 3 months from the receipt of the respective amount by the Company”.
According to FP, the attendance at the assembly was 59%. The vote for the proposal of the Ministry of Finance regarding the listing of Hidroelectrica shares only on BVB was voted by 72%. 57% voted against the dual listing.
Asked how many shares he expects to be listed, Johan Meyer said he cannot make predictions because we are “months away from that zero moment”.
Fondul Proprietatea controls 20% of Hidroelectrica, a package valued at 12.1 billion lei in the FP portfolio. The value of the Hidroelectrica package was updated in the first 9 months of the year, increasing by 3 billion lei. The largest energy producer in Romania is currently valued at a total of over 60.5 billion lei.
Hidroelectrica also generated 764 million lei in cash in Fondul Proprietatea accounts this year, the amount represented by dividends.
Fondul Proprietatea is a joint stock company operating as an Alternative Investment Fund with a set lifetime until 31 December 2031 (which may be extended by the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders, with additional periods of 5 years/each), incorporated in Romania, trading on the Bucharest Stock Exchange since January 2011, and on the London Stock Exchange since April 2015. Fondul Proprietatea is registered with ASF as an Alternative Investment Fund closed-end type (F.I.A.), addressed to retail investors under register number PJR09FIAIR/400018.
Starting 1 April 2016, Fondul Proprietatea is managed in compliance with the Directive 2011/61/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2011 on Alternative Investment Fund Managers.