EnglishU.S. carmaker Ford Motor Co. will pay 57 million EUR for a 72.4% stake in the state-owned assembly plant Automobile Craiova, according to finance ministry officials.Ford, which is the only bidder for the Craiova plant, made an initial financial offer of 55 million EUR for the shares, which it later raised.
The U.S. carmaker has said it plans to invest 675 million euros in the Craiova-based plant which produced 24,000 Daewoo vehicles in 2006. It intends to raise employment to around 7,000 from 3,900 at present, and plans to reach output of 300,000 units a year. Media have speculated that Ford would produce the Fiesta model.Ford"s investments to upgrade and modernize the site would reach 1 billion EUR by 2012.
Romania paid 43.9 million EUR last year to buy a 51% stake in the company back from Daewoo"s creditors. The government will keep a stake after it sells the controlling stake to Ford.
Finance Secretary Sebastian Vladescu said that the privatisation contract could be signed on September 12, on the sidelines of the Frankfurt car show in Germany. Automobile Craiova shares closed 8.36% up at 35 RON on Friday.
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