Răzvan Popescu, CEO of Romgaz: "The funds raised through the bond issue will support the company's entire investment plan"

The funds attracted through the Romgaz bond issue, worth 500 million euros, will support the natural gas producer's entire investment plan, which amounts to almost one billion euros next year, said yesterday Răzvan Popescu, the company's general manager, on the occasion of the event that marked the listing of the securities on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB).

The Romgaz director stated: "First of all, the funds will go to the Neptun Deep project but also to the modernization of the compression stations, to the drilling process, to the Caragele project. In nine months we have investments of over two billion lei, and for next year we have an investment forecast of almost one billion euros. Half of the money will come from these bonds".

According to the company representative, the bonds were subscribed by international-caliber investors, with the British from Man GLG providing half of the value of the issue.

"The big names that participated in this issue show that both Romgaz and our development plans and the Neptun Deep project are appreciated. For example, the largest investor we had was Man GLG, which had a ticket of over a quarter of a billion (ed. of euros). In general, they were very, very good names, hence the interest in bonds that were also bought after the issue (ed. on the Luxembourg stock exchange). Probably, in general, these investors are buy-and-hold given that, for mutual funds and pension funds, the issue is relatively short-term. We are very pleased with the interest and quality of these investors," said Răzvan Popescu. Man GLG, part of Man Group, is an investment manager with a discretionary approach, for all asset classes.

Last year, Man Group had 175 billion dollars under management, serving clients from all over the world, according to data available on the website of the London-based group.

• "The next bond issue will probably be launched sometime after the middle of next year; the timing depends on market conditions," said Răzvan Popescu

The Romgaz bond issue listed yesterday on the BVB is the first in a program worth 1.5 billion euros, and according to the company's director, the next issue will probably be launched in the second half of next year.

"It depends a lot on market conditions. Obviously, we will prepare it in line with the financing needs for the Neptun Deep project and for the other projects. It will probably be somewhere after the middle of next year, but of course things can change," said Răzvan Popescu.

Responding to a question from Ziarul Bursa, the Romgaz director pointed out that the success of the company's first bond issue may also encourage other listed issuers from the Ministry of Energy's portfolio to use this financing channel.

"I think the message that this issue has sent to the entire market is that bonds represent a cheaper and more transparent solution to raise capital for investments. At the same time, it also comes with the issuer's responsibility to organize itself, to make a correct issue prospectus, which requires a lot of work. But it gives the freedom to carry out successive issues within a 1.5 billion euro program, as we did. I believe that the success of the Romgaz bond issue could also encourage other companies in the portfolio of the Ministry of Energy, listed on the stock exchange, to perceive this instrument as feasible for financing. Especially when it comes to strategic projects, which require a large investment over a long period of time", said Răzvan Popescu.

The bonds issued by Romgaz have a nominal value of 1,000 euros, a fixed interest rate of 4.75% per year and mature in 2029. The securities, also listed on the Luxembourg stock exchange, have generated significant interest from international investors, with demand reaching almost six billion euros. The process of listing the bonds on the BVB was carried out with the support of BT Capital Partners, a member company of the Banca Transilvania Financial Group.

Romgaz was listed on the BVB Regulated Market on November 12, 2013, following the successful completion of a secondary initial public offering with a cumulative value of 1.7 billion lei, which was carried out both on the local stock exchange and on the London Stock Exchange. For our country, the company's listing was one of the largest share sales offers made by the Romanian state through the BVB.

The Romanian state, through the Ministry of Energy, owns 70% of the company based in Mediaş, whose stock market valuation amounts to about 21 billion lei.