Marius Cristescu: We Start Buying On BSE Next Spring, If Prices Go Low Enough

• The Cristescu Brothers plan to turn Faur into BSE investment vehicle

Marius and Emil Cristescu, two of the richest businessmen in Romania, are preparing for new acquisitions on the domestic capital market though the companies they already control. Being in control of over 90% in the rolling stock manufacturer Faur - Bucharest, the two brothers have called a Shareholder Meeting for 15 October to obtain the formal approval for having the company trade stock on the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

"We will start buying on the Stock Exchange in January or February, if prices reach a similar level to what we had last Spring," Bega Group President Marius Cristache told BURSA. "If that happened, we could say that prices were very reasonable," he added.

He declined disclosing for the time being Faur"s budget for investments on the domestic capital market, as it would largely depend on the company"s performance until the end of the year.

"Faur has certain amounts of available liquidities, as we made a profit in the first half of the year, more than four million lei it was, but we also need to look at our figures at the end of the year," Cristescu added. The same is valid for the other companies controlled by the two brothers: "All our companies that have liquidities will invest on the capital market. I believe that the year 2010 will be the last year when the Bourse is going to decline," Marius Cristescu added.

According to him, the acquisition plan will target companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange or RASDAQ that operate in the same businesses as the companies already included in Bega Group, namely the rolling stock manufacturing, oil drilling, machine building and cargo transportation.

"We may also increase our stake in the companies in which we already hold stock or buy stock in other companies," he said.

Early this year, the Cristescu Brothers caused some commotion on the Bucharest Stock Exchange for a few days, after having reported that their company, Foraj Sonde, held 5.26% in Dafora - Medias, controlled by Gheorghe Calburean.

Bega Group comprises 29 companies, of which 23 are strategic acquisitions made in the early 1990s.