On August 31, the privatization committee received the letters of interest of nine banks: Dexia, Erste Dank, Rabobank, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena S.p.A., EFG Eurobank, National Bank of Greece, OTP Bank, Societe Generale and the consortium formed by Raiffeisen Zentralbank Oesterreich Aktiengesellschaft and Raiffeisen International Bank – Holding A.G. In September Rabobank sent the minister of Public Finances Sebastian Vladescu a letter through which it announced its decision of renouncing to bid for the acquisition of the Romanian Savings Bank (CEC). The bank officials considered the Romanian authorities’ strategy of maximizing the selling price to be an inappropriate approach of the privatization process.
The pre-selection was formed around three criteria: a social capital larger than 1.5 billion euros, the investment rating given by an acknowledged rating agency and the good international reputation of the bank.
The strategic investor that would buy the CEC will have the possibility of taking control of up to 75% of the capital but no less than 50% plus one share, according to the bank’s privatization strategy adopted by the government. If the selection process reveals a difference of more than 10% between the first two best offers, the privatization committee will ask the two institutions to make improved final financial offers. In order to maximize the price of shares the committee will demand the interested companies of consortia to file preliminary offers for both the maximum stock of 75% and a smaller stock but no less than 50% plus one share of the CEC capital.
