OLTCHIM
Romanian prime minister Ponta slams all three potential investors / “Difficult situation”
 Unhappy about the problems surrounding Oltchim: Romanian prime minister Victor Ponta (Photo: Romanian state press agency) |
The latest effort to privatise Oltchim (Ramnicu Valcea / Romania; www.oltchim.ro) appears to have drawn three interested parties – for most recent coverage, see also Plasteurope.com of 17.09.2012. Aside from minority shareholder PCC (Duisburg / Germany; www.pcc.eu), Romanian prime minister Victor Ponta also has identified Chimcomplex Borzesti (Bacau / Romania; www.chimcomplex.ro) as well as media mogul Dan Diaconescu as players in the game over the Romanian petrochemical group.
However, it seems as though Ponta is not taking all offers seriously. Local media report that Diaconescu’s bid is considered illusory, and has been dismissed as “exotic”. The same can be said of Chimcomplex, a subsidiary of Serviciile Comerciale Romane (SCR, Cluj / Romania; www.scrgrup.ro), which produces sodium hypochlorite, organic solvents, pesticides and industrial gases, among others. It appears that Ponta does not believe the company has the necessary financial clout.
That leaves PCC. With revenues of EUR 600m, the group certainly is able to pay, but its past comments on a post-privatisation scenario have been anything but palatable – see also Plasteurope.com of 30.08.2011. Speaking to Plasteurope.com last summer, PCC Business Development director Wojciech Zaremba had said some parts of Oltchim were “quite useable” – including its polyols production as well as the caustic soda and oxo alcohols capacities. He described Oltchim’s VCM and PVC chains as “feasible” if the necessary ethylene can be obtained at a competitive price.
Such statements allude to significant changes in the company’s structure, which – needless to say – contradict the option favoured by Pontas, who wants to keep the company and its workforce largely intact. In view of the widespread criticism of Oltchim’s former management, the Romanian prime minister recently called the company “obstructionist”, and the local daily Coridianul has cited him as saying that if necessary, Oltchim will be managed by an external administration until a suitable investor is found.
Meanwhile, the state’s privatisation agency Oficiului Participatiilor Statului si Privatizarii in Industrie (OPSPI; http://opspi.minind.ro) has extended the deadline for takeover bids to 20 September – reportedly in a move aimed at allowing Russia’s Gazprom enough time to study the possibility of a takeover. Reports indicate that OPSPI is planning to receive EUR 4.4m for the state’s shares in Oltchim – an incredible sum considering the group’s debt, estimated at anywhere between EUR 600-700m.
However, it seems as though Ponta is not taking all offers seriously. Local media report that Diaconescu’s bid is considered illusory, and has been dismissed as “exotic”. The same can be said of Chimcomplex, a subsidiary of Serviciile Comerciale Romane (SCR, Cluj / Romania; www.scrgrup.ro), which produces sodium hypochlorite, organic solvents, pesticides and industrial gases, among others. It appears that Ponta does not believe the company has the necessary financial clout.
That leaves PCC. With revenues of EUR 600m, the group certainly is able to pay, but its past comments on a post-privatisation scenario have been anything but palatable – see also Plasteurope.com of 30.08.2011. Speaking to Plasteurope.com last summer, PCC Business Development director Wojciech Zaremba had said some parts of Oltchim were “quite useable” – including its polyols production as well as the caustic soda and oxo alcohols capacities. He described Oltchim’s VCM and PVC chains as “feasible” if the necessary ethylene can be obtained at a competitive price.
Such statements allude to significant changes in the company’s structure, which – needless to say – contradict the option favoured by Pontas, who wants to keep the company and its workforce largely intact. In view of the widespread criticism of Oltchim’s former management, the Romanian prime minister recently called the company “obstructionist”, and the local daily Coridianul has cited him as saying that if necessary, Oltchim will be managed by an external administration until a suitable investor is found.
Meanwhile, the state’s privatisation agency Oficiului Participatiilor Statului si Privatizarii in Industrie (OPSPI; http://opspi.minind.ro) has extended the deadline for takeover bids to 20 September – reportedly in a move aimed at allowing Russia’s Gazprom enough time to study the possibility of a takeover. Reports indicate that OPSPI is planning to receive EUR 4.4m for the state’s shares in Oltchim – an incredible sum considering the group’s debt, estimated at anywhere between EUR 600-700m.
24.09.2012 Plasteurope.com [223427-0]
Published on 24.09.2012
German version of this article...