SIF Oltenia sells its Automobile Craiova shares for EUR 18 M

The Oltenia Financial Investments Company (SIF5) sold to Ford yesterday the 22.85 per cent participation that it had within Automobile Craiova (AUCS), for EUR 18 M (RON 75.25 M). The 4.329 million shares were sold through two special transactions on Rasdaq's DEAL market at a price close to the one at which the state sold the majority package to the American car manufacturing company.

A part of the shares, namely 1.025 million of them, were sold at a price of RON 17 (EUR 4.06) per unit, while the remaining 3.3 million shares were sold at a price of RON 17.5/unit (EUR 4.18), 2.94 per cent above the reference price of RON 17.

America's Ford Group became the majority shareholder within Automobile Craiova in September 2007 when it bought 72.4 per cent of the company's shares from the Romanian state, in return for EUR 57 M. Ford paid the Romanian state EUR 4.16 per share. Following Thursday's transactions the American company's participation climbed to 94.96 per cent of the registered capital.

Following the market announcement on the transfer of shares, SIF Oltenia shares climbed by 14.62 per cent.

In early March SIF Oltenia announced that it wants to sell its Autombile Craiova shares to Ford for EUR 17.7 M and asked AVAS to offer it another 8 per cent of the shares of the company that will control the real-estate assets of the companies that merged with the car manufacturing company, namely Automobile Craiova, Mecatim Timisoara and the car plant in Craiova (Daewoo Automobile Romania). Automobile Craiova registered a profit of RON 1.8 M last year, 28 per cent higher than the one registered in 2007. Its turnover dropped by 7.3 per cent from RON 9.9 M to RON 9.2 M. The company has a registered capital of RON 39.7 M, divided into 18.9 million shares with a nominal value of RON 2.1.

SIF5 shares register 14.6 pc hike following transaction

The price of SIF5 shares rose by 14.62 per cent after the Financial Investments Company sold its package of AUCS shares for RON 75.2 M.

At 11.20 AM the Financial Investment Company sold its 22.5 per cent participation within AUCS and starting at that moment the investors started to place an ever increasing number of buy options for SIF Oltenia shares.

SIF Oltenia's shares topped the market with transfers of RON 4.2 M. The Bucharest Stock Exchange Market suspended the transactions with SIF Oltenia shares for 42 minutes after the Financial Investment Company notified the market about its decision to sell its package of AUCS shares to Ford.

The market operator suspended the transactions with SIF Oltenia shares and derivatives at 12.18. The transactions with these titles were resumed at 1 PM.

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