Franklin Templeton's investment fund recently bought 3.8 million shares in Romania's OMV Petrom, which is listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange for a purchase price of some EUR 391,000. OMV Petrom last week announced a record profit of EUR 885.5 million in 2012, up 5 percent on the year before, while its sales went up by 16 percent, to some EUR 5.9 billion.

Another large stock exchange transaction late last week was the sale of 22 million shares in Fondul Proprietatea, which sold for some EUR 2.9 million to Elliott Associates, which already owns over 15 percent in Romania's Fondul Proprietatea investment fund. Elliott has been buying the fund's shares in several transactions since the beginning of the year.

Fondul Proprietatea attracted foreign investments of some EUR 750 million since its listing on the Bucharest Stock Exchange two years ago. The fund is managed by Franklin Templeton, the buyer of the recent OMV Petrom share package.

Foreigners are the largest individual shareholders in the fund, with Elliott Associates holding 14.95 percent in FP, while City of London Investment Management holds 9.69 percent and The Royal Bank of Scotland, 5.39 percent.

With 9,363 shareholders, the fund had 6.4 billion of its shares traded in 2012, and an average daily turnover of EUR 3 million. The value of the traded shares was of EUR 768 million. The average daily turnover was more than three times higher than the second placed, blue chip BRD.

The fund's largest assets in portfolio are OMV Petrom, which is listed. The second largest, Hidroelectrica, is currently insolvent, while the third, Romgaz, is due for IPO in 2013. CE Oltenia and Nuclearelectrica are also due for IPO or sale in 2013. The fund's top ten portfolio holdings have a value of some EUR 2 billion.

editor@romania-insider.com