Sources: Alin Tatu has sold his stake in SIF Banat Crişana

According to some market sources, businessman Alin Tatu yesterday sold his 5% stake in SIF1 Banat Crişana, in a trade on the "Deal" tier of the market, following a spectacular hike on the quotations of the market.

In March, Alin Tatu had reported that he had exceeded the 5% holding limit of the shares of SIF Banat Crişana (SIF1), and, subsequently was one of the opponents of Dragoş Bîlteanu, the president of SIF1. In April, together with Bogdan Emil Vânătoru, Alin Tatu proposed the payout of a gross dividend of 0.1649 lei/share at SIF1, higher than the alternatives proposed by the Board of Directors, but the General Shareholder Meeting decided that no dividends would be paid out by SIF Banat Crişana in 2012. The two shareholders have also applied for the elections for a new management team, but they did not get the votes of the General Shareholder Meeting.

The price of SIF1 climbed, surprisingly, towards the end of Friday's session, almost 12.5%, to 1.1590 lei/share, and at the time, brokers said that the mystery behind this spectacular rise could be solved in the next trading session.

And that is precisely what happened.

Yesterday, two blocks of shares which together represented 6.27% of SIF Banat-Crişana (SIF1), exchanged hands for 45.4 million lei (10.2 million Euros), at a price almost 14% higher than Friday's close.

Thus, the rise at the end of last week seems to have been intended to prepare the price for the deals which occurred yesterday, considering that the price on a "Deal" transaction is allowed to have a +/- 15% fluctuation, compared to the close of the previous session.

On the main market, the situation was completely different. Throughout the day, shares of SIF1 fell, and towards the end of the day, the price reached 1.1 lei/share, down 5.09% compared to Friday's close. The trades on the main market had a combined turnover of 541.000 de lei.

The Financial Oversight Authority has asked the Bucharest Stock Exchange for explanations concerning the rise in the price of the stock of the BSE, during period of waiting for the validation of Ludwik Sobolewski the new CEO of the BSE, according to statements made last week by Dan Paul, the vice-president of the BSE. Hence, it is not completely out of the question that the trades of SIF1 could draw the attention of the Authority.