Rompetrol Rafinare's shareholders Tuesday approved on principle the conversion into shares of the bonds the company failed to recover on account of Petromidia refinery's historic debt, the company announced.

The shareholders have also approved a pledge on some of the company's assets to extend the deadline of a USD 720 million loan from the company's majority shareholder, Rompetrol Group Netherlands.

The loan payment, which was due on August 12 this year, was guaranteed by Rompetrol Rafinare with shares it owns it its subsidiaries Rompetrol Downstream, Rom Oil, Rompetrol Petrochemicals, Rompetrol Logistics, as well as with several assets from the Petromidia refinery.

The Romanian Fiscal Authority (ANAF) has recently seized Rompetrol Rafinare's assets and participations in subsidiaries in an attempt to recover a USD 570 million debt and prevent the alienation of these assets. Rompetrol had previously said it was planning to recover all the bonds but more recently it said it lacked the liquidities to do so. So far, Rompetrol has paid only a part of the debt.

The loan payment, which is due at the end of September this year, stems from Petromidia’s refinery debt from 2003, which was converted under the then Government into seven-year maturity bonds, which now need to be repaid, or else they will be converted into shares. This would give the state the control over the Petromidia refinery, now owned by Rompetrol Rafinare, part of Rompetrol Group. Rompetrol Group is currently owned by KazMunayGaz, which took it over from businessman Dinu Patriciu in 2007.

romania-insider.com