"Romtelecom" looking for consultants for the listing

The officials of the Ministry of Communications announced yesterday that the benefits of the merger between Romtelecom and Cosmote, as well as those of the listing of the company on the Stock Exchange, would have to be evaluated by independent consultants, which would be hired by the Romanian state.

The minister of Communication, Valerian Vreme, announced yesterday that during the recent meetings with the representatives of OTE, a common schedule has been set with them for the listing for the listing within 12 months of the shares that the Romanian state owns in "Romtelecom".

The minister said that an internationally reputed investment bank, agreed by both shareholders, will be hired by September 1st, 2011. Also, a law firm will be hired to provide consulting and legal assistance in order to protect the legal interests of the shareholders of Romtelecom and Cosmote, by August 1st, 2011.

The consultants will draw up a report and a plan for the project by December 1st, 2011.

At the same time, the minister said that during the talks with the representatives of Romtelecom it has been decided that any purchase exceeding 500,000 Euros will be presented to the board, any purchase of more than 4 million Euros will have to be approved by the Board of Directors, and any position in the management becoming vacant will be filled after a selection performed by a company specializing in human resources. All these new provisions will be included in the management contract that OTE has concluded with Romtelecom.

The shareholders of Romtelecom are OTE - the main telecommunications operator in Greece - which owns 54.01% and the Ministry of Communications and Information Society (MCSI) - 45.99%. German telecom operator Deutsche Telekom owns 30% of OTE.