British investment fund Carlson Ventures International Ltd. has reached a 12 percent stake in Romanian chemical plant Oltchim (symbol OLT), after having bough a 9.2 percent share package on the Bucharest Stock Exchange last week, according to Ziarul Financiar. The deal was carried through a Cyprus-based subsidiary, Nachbar Services, in a EUR 3.3 million transaction.

Oltchim, which has been posting losses of over EUR 150 million in total in the last three years, mainly due to the shutdown of activity of its main raw material supplier Arpechim refinery, holds debts of over EUR 550 million.

Romania has pledged to privatize the chemicals producer at the request of the International Monetary Fund. Investment fund PCC, which owns another 12 percent of Oltchim, has been fighting the company's management in the last two years in order to start the privatization of the company, hoping to achieve the control.

editor@romania-insider.com