Privatisation of Romanian carrier TAROM begins to gather speed

Published: 5/26/1999

The Romanian news agency Rompress reports that the Romanian government has given top priority to the sell-off of the national airline TAROM. According to reports the European Commission undertook to allocate EURO 3.9 mln to prepare for TAROM sell-off, with additional help coming from the World Bank. According to the Romanian Ministry of Transport, the first task will be the search for a strategic partner, to take 20% to 25% of the company. A second task will be to decide on the timing of offering of TAROM shares to the market. According to Aleodor Francu, a secretary of state to the Ministry of Transport, the strategic partner could potentially be offered control of the company with a holding greater than 51%. Romanian authorities say, several international investment banks have expressed intention to participate in the sell-off including ABN Amro Bank, Citibank, ING Barings, Creditanstalt Securities, Deutsche Bank and Societe Generale.

Article ID: 538