SIF Muntenia and Sea Container Services will launch a takeover bid for the Orşova Naval Shipyard

The Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) has approved the public offer document for the mandatory takeover of the company Şantierul Naval Orşova (SNO), initiated by Sea Container Services and SIF Muntenia (SIF4), according to a report of our capital market supervisor published on the website- of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB).

The offer, which will take place between February 1 and 14, is launched for about one million SNO shares, equivalent to 8.8% of the river ship manufacturer, at a price of 5.1 lei per share, below the market price of at the end of last week, 5.75 lei.

At the end of November last year, Sea Container Services and SIF Muntenia notified the market that, following the conclusion of a cooperation agreement until the end of April this year, they together own 91.2% of Orşova Naval Shipyard, Sea Container Services having almost 50% of the company and the SIF 41.2%. Sea Container Services bought the stake in SNO from Transilvania Investments in mid-November 2023 for about 29.1 million lei. The transaction took place in the "deal" market at a unit price of 5.1 lei, 11.3% below the reference in the "regular" market.

Also on that day, SIF Muntenia had reached a holding of 41.2% of Orşova Naval Shipyard, after purchasing the 28% stake in the company owned by Infinity Capital Investments, also at the price of 5.1 lei per share, raising the value of the transaction - it is 16.3 million lei. Lion Capital controls SIF Muntenia, through the administrator SAI Muntenia Invest, a fact recognized by the Financial Supervisory Authority, but in reality also the management of Infinity Capital Investments, which it imposed three years ago.

Sea Container Services (formerly Property Development) was established in 1998, starting its activity as a containerized goods operator, later diversifying its range of services provided in the Port of Constanţa, including cargo unloading/loading operations on maritime vessels and river, railway and car wagons, goods storage, handling, etc.

According to the Ziua de Constanţa publication, the Sea Container Services associates are: Stone Group SRL represented by Codruţa Dana Bogatu and Dumitru Teşeleanu - 50% and Lenuta Pilcă and Marius Făinărea each 25%, the company being managed by Ion Dumitru.

According to Replica Online, those mentioned are part of the so-called "group of customs officers", former customs officers from Constanţa reprofiled as businessmen. The "Gruparea vameşilor" has been active for about a decade and a half, during which time its members also had criminal problems, some of them being detained or arrested in serious corruption cases, the quoted source mentions.

For the first nine months of last year, the Orşova Shipyard reported a turnover of 81.8 million lei, 87% above that of the January-September 2022 period, while the net profit amounted to almost four million lei, against a loss of 2.3 million lei.