Romania moves towards sale of cargo railway company CFR Marfa

By bne IntelliNews August 16, 2013

Romania’s government has published in the official journal the privatisation contract of cargo railway company CFR Marfa and the winning bidder – private company GFR, part of Grampet group, has two months to come up with the EUR 202mn promised for the 51% stake, Ziarul Financiar daily announced.

The government approved the privatisation contract on July 24. But PM Victor Ponta wanted to share the responsibility for the privatisation with President Traian Basescu, asking for the deal to be also endorsed by the country’s defence council [CSAT] – headed by Basescu.

Nonetheless, CSAT summoned last week and declined endorsing such privatisation deals, explaining that only the details relevant for the national security are considered when approving in broader terms the privatisation.

Romania’s antitrust body [Consiliul Concurentei] will decide within a month whether the endorsement for the takeover should be issued by the national or the European antitrust officials, the daily announced. A final decision on the takeover’s impact on competition will, however, be given within six months. By taking over CFR Marfa, private company GFR will accumulate a market share of over 70%.

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