Octavian Radu considering listing on the Stock Exchange

Businessman Octavian Radu, owner of RTC Holding, a major retail, distribution, and services group on the local market, is considering listing his company on the Stock Exchange and is thinking twice about his decision to sell some divisions of the business in order to obtain liquidities.

"I think more about listing on the Stock Exchange than selling. I will list either the entire RTC group, or its most important divisions," Octavian told Business Standard. The official, whose businesses amounted to €270 million, declined to provide any details about the right moment for listing. Although the decision of listing the company on the Stock Exchange was the last phase of a four-stage anti-crisis plan drafted by the businessman for the coming three-four years, he said that, until the situation bounces back, investments have been blocked, and listing on the Stock Exchange could be the best solution.

"Listing the company on the Stock Exchange would not only offer Mr. Octavian Radu the possibility of obtaining a real assessment of the business he manages, but is, at the same time, an optimal alternative to the decision to sell RTC group companies, because this would bring him added value. It is a brave and commendable decision, if it materializes," Adrian Lupsan, Deputy General Manager of the Intercapital Invest brokerage firm, told Business Standard.

Regarding the listing strategy, Lupsan said that the cautious thing to do is to list RTC divisions with a positive financial result dynamic on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB), in a first stage, to observe investor reaction.

If RTC is listed on the Stock Exchange, this would be the first listing on BVB in 2009, although market conditions are uncertain and nobody can tell what will happen in three months, if the value of shares will rise or continues to slide. "I believe that the summer of 2010 will be the best time for Octavian Radu, because we are now experiencing some difficult moments. Political tensions will continue until this winter, and then we will wait for a second wave of the crisis," Iulian Panait, President of the KTD Invest advisory company, said.

The crisis has sharply affected the RTC companies, as the decline at the group level was 35-40 percent. "Things are going very badly, as they did in the first six months, although I expected a rebound, because we had a lot of good news in September: abroad, the FED again cut the benchmark rate close to zero, and for us, the second tranche from the International Monetary Fund just arrived. Theoretically, banks have money, as does the government, but the problem is consumer confidence," Radu said.

standard.money.ro