BIDS RANGING FROM 1,852 TO 7,000 EUROS FOR THE LISTING OF THE PROPRIETATEA FUND The brokers are looking for fame, not money

• Dana Mirela Ionescu, RCI: "Some brokerage firms just want the money, others just want to be part of a big project"

• BT Securities could get the maximum score on the price side, as it has the lowest bid

The bids submitted by the three consortiums and by the brokerage firm that is competing on its own for the intermediation of the listing of the Proprietatea Fund range from 1,852 to 7,000 Euros, fees which could seem ridiculous compared to the size of the issuer and to what its listing would mean on the domestic capital market, once it got listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. However, the competitors vying to intermediate the listing of the Fund say that they are not interested in the money that they could make, but rather in the reputation and the strategic benefits which would serve them well later down the road.

The best price was the one offered by BT Securities, the brokerage firm that chose to enter the competition for the listing of the Fund by itself. BT Securities is asking for 1,852 Euros to intermediate the listing of the Proprietatea Fund, meaning it has good chances of getting right of the bat all the 100 points for having made the lowest bid. The tender book, obtained by BURSA, says that the lowest bid gets the maximum number of points (100), and for the other bids, listed in ascending order, the score would drop 10 points per step. However, the tenders will also be evaluated based on other criteria (see the tender book on www.bursa.ro).

The consortium consisting of "Raiffeisen Capital&Investment, ING Bank şi BRD" requested an intermediation fee of about 2,300 Euros, whereas "KBC Securities" and "Unicredit Caib" offered to intermediate the listing of the Proprietatea Fund for approximately 3,000 Euros.

The highest bid, of around 7,000 Euros, was made by the consortium which includes BCR, "Wood& Co" and "Intercapital Invest".

Contacted by Bursa, the officials of some of the competitors said that the work they would have to perform for the listing of the Fund would not be difficult, which is why their fees are smaller.

"In the case of the Proprietatea Fund we"re simply talking about a technical listing, not an IPO. This means that we won"t have to make any efforts to find buyers, hold road-shows or draw up a prospectus for the listing", said for BURSA, Dana Mirela Ionescu, the president and CEO of "Raiffeisen Capital&Investment" and the leader of the consortium which included RCI, BRD and ING.

"Raiffeisen" has intermediated the listing of stakes in "Transelectrica" and "Transgaz" on the Bucharest Stock Exchange in 2006 and in 2008, respectively, for which it received significant fees. The head of RCI also considers that bringing the Proprietatea Fund on the Stock Exchange also represents "a way of providing reparations for those who suffered during the communist regime", which is why the money takes a back seat.

"Some just want money, whereas others just want to be part of a big project. What"s more, bringing the Fund on the Exchange would help make the Romanian capital market stronger", Mirela Ionescu added.

Rareş Nilaş, of BT Securities, had a more pragmatic point of view, stressing the benefits that the intermediation of the Proprietatea Fund would bring for the brokerage firm he is leading.

"Most likely the Fund will hold calls for tenders for the listing of some of the companies in its portfolio, so for us to succeed in intermediating its listing would be an advantage. Plus one considers the notoriety that this gets you", Rareş Nilaş said for BURSA.

The management of the Proprietatea Fund yesterday announced that according to the acquisition documentation, the Commission would designate the winner within three days after the requested documents have been requested. The Commission has requested that the KBC/Unicredit consortium bring several documents that it has omitted on Wednesday, within 72 hours.

Also, the officials of the Fund have stated that all the participants have submitted their tenders within the legal delay. KBC had submitted a complaint in which it claimed that the RCI/BRD/ING consortium had submitted its tender six minutes after the 14:00 deadline.