The Romanian Post will spend almost EUR 17 million to acquire IT equipment and services for modernizing its electronic network.

The state-owned company will organize two auctions on February 8 and February 9.

In the first auction, firms will be able to submit bids for providing the Romanian Post with IT equipment worth EUR 13 million. On the following day, bidders will compete for providing the Post with IT services of EUR 2.8 million.

The national postal company wants to create a fast network that will improve its operational processes, said Alexandru Petrescu, Romanian Post general director.

The number of computerized postal offices will increase from 1,000 to over 2,000 units. The waiting time at the counter will also go down considerably, according to the company.

The Romanian Post saw a net profit of EUR 5 million in 2014, after five years of losses. The Romanian state has a 75% stake in the company whereas the investment fund Fondul Proprietatea holds the remaining 25%.

The state tried to privatize the Post last year, but its attempt failed. The Belgian postal services operator bpost, which was the only investor that had shown interest in this process, didn’t submit a binding offer for taking over a 51% stake in the company by September 15 when the deadline expired.

This wasn’t the first failed attempt to privatize the Post.

Alexandru Petrescu, general director of the Romanian Post, said that the sale of shares by public subscription, followed by the listing on the capital market, could be the best capitalization option for the Romanian Post.

Diana Mesesan, diana@romania-insider.com