Three years after privatisation, Austrian group Erste has putbetween it and BCR, the biggest bank in Romania, whose majorityshareholder it is, two entities registered as limited companiesrecently set up in Austria, EGB Ceps Beteiligungen and EGB CepsHolding, with the latter becoming the legal owner of the 69.3% inBCR.
Erste this way transfers its direct exposure to the BCR out of itsportfolio.
The Austrians had not been allowed to make such a move in the firstthree years after privatisation, but the deadline expired lastmonth, so that the Romanian State cancelled its post-privatisationmonitoring.
The name change for BCR's majority shareholder had not beenoperated at the Trade Registry Office yesterday yet.
Contacted by ZF, the officials of Erste said it was about a "formalchange".
"The change does not influence the existing corporate governancestructure or the business strategy in any way, and is only a matterof internal reorganisation." This is the official explanation forthe move. Yesterday afternoon, the two limited liability companieswere not showing up in the official structure of the Erste group,although the change was supposed to modify the shareholderstructure of other subsidiaries in the region, as well. TheAustrians have changed their holding company structure once before,that is last year.
The Erste officials were unwilling to reveal the value of thecapital held by EBG Ceps Holding, the limited company currentlycontrolling BCR, nor did they explain the reason for thischange.
"I cannot describe it any other way than organisationalstreamlining. No effect on strategy. No effect on exposure. Wemaintain our exposure to Romania. Erste Group's commitment toRomania/ BCR remains solid and unchanged," said Ionut Stanimir,spokesman for Erste Group, adding there were no plans for thefloatation of any of the two vehicles. .
Still, Petre Szel, chairman of Muntenia Invest, the manager of SIFMuntenia, says Erste has regrouped its business in a vehicle fortax and strategy reasons.
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