The Romanian Economy Minister has officially announced it will postpone the public offer for its stake of 9.84 percent in oil and gas company OMV Petrom, after investors have subscribed less than 80 percent of the available shares, which was the threshold to make the offer successful.

The minister has announced, in a statement sent to the Bucharest Stock Exchange, where OMV Petrom's shares are floating, that it will monitor the market evolution and decide on the best moment to re-start the sale of its 9.84 percent share stake in the oil and gas company. The public offering started on July 11 and ended on July 22.

The public offer was started with a maximum price of RON 0.46 per share, while mid through the process, the Romanian Government established RON 0.37 as the minimum price per share in the public offer. This meant that the state wanted to raise at least EUR 438 million for the stake it sells in OMV Petrom.

A consortium led by investment bank Renaissance Capital started the public offer, which consisted of two tranches, 15 percent for retail buyers, and 85 percent for institutional buyers. The offer would have been successful if 80 percent of the shares had been subscribed at a price determined according to the prospect.

The Romanian state owns a 20.64 percent package in OMV Petrom. Austrian OMV is the majority shareholder in the company. Fondul Proprietatea owns a 20.11 percent stake, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, some 2.03 percent, while 6.21 percent are free floating on the BSE.The company posted a turnover of EUR 4.421 billion in 2010, while its profit before taxes stood at EUR 709 million.

editor@romania-insider.com