The privatisation of GRIRO company, which is interesting both as an industrial and as a realty business, is about to prompt unprecedented competition between some of the most powerful and high-profile members of the Romanian business environment.
Four of Romania's most influential businessmen - Ovidiu Tender, Fathi Taher, Nicolae Badea and Dinu Patriciu, grouped in three camps, will wage a fierce battle over 81.51% in GRIRO next week. The stake is held by the Privatisation Authority (APAPS).
Tender is bidding for GRIRO through TENDER SA, which has teamed up in a consortium with VGB Impex (a company that was involved in the RAFO refinery privatisation), whereas Fathi Taher and Nicolae Badea have sealed an alliance through various companies (among which Laminate SA Bucharest, Felix Telecom and AGI Romania), and also have the GRIRO Employees' Association (PAS) on their side. Dinu Patriciu entered the competition through Rominserv Bucharest and Rompetrol Downstream, two companies belonging to the Rompetrol Group.
Fathi Taher owns several businesses in Romania, such as the JW Marriott hotel in Bucharest, sweets company Excelent and the insurance company AGI. Nicolae Badea is chairman of the Board of Football Club Dinamo, one of the main minority shareholders at Orange Romania (indirectly) and the founder of Computerland.
The three consortia last week submitted the bids to buy the stake held by APAPS in GRIRO. The race also counts an Italian contender - Walter Tosto Sebatoi, whose core activity is similar to GRIRO's.
GRIRO, a company headquartered on Grivita Blvd in Bucharest, has caught the eye of investors for two main reasons: the great potential of its core activity (production of heavy equipment) and its impressive realty properties.
The company owns one of the biggest office buildings in Bucharest, which is a real estate business in itself, as most of it has already been rented. According to the company's statements, GRIRO owns some 12,000 square metres (more than 12 hectares) of offices, storage facilities and exhibition venues. Some 85,500 square metres are already in use.
According to market sources, the great potential of the real estate business is the main reason why the prominent Romanian businessmen are engaged in such a fierce battle over GRIRO.
Also, each consortium includes investors owning companies that may act as partners or customers of GRIRO in the production of heavy equipment.
In the past few years, Ovidiu Tender has been buying companies operating in sectors related to the Cernavoda nuclear power plant: Nuclearmontaj, Vulcan Bucharest and FECNE Bucharest.
Fathi Taher controls Laminorul Focsani and trading company Laminorul Bucharest.
Dinu Patriciu is president and main shareholder of Rompetrol Group, a potential GRIRO customer. In fact, Patriciu claims that his group's interest in GRIRO is strictly related to the company's production activity.
"I can't speak for the other bidders, but we are strictly interested in the industrial part," Dinu Patriciu told Ziarul Financiar.
laurentiu.ispir@zf.ro
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