THE AFTERMATH OF THE FAILURE OF THE SECONDARY PUBLIC OFFERING OF "PETROM" Valentin Ionescu, the general manager of the BSE, sanctioned by the Council of the Exchange

The management of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE) has sanctioned General Manager Valentin Ionescu with a "Warning", holding him responsible for several mistakes in the matter of the failed Secondary Public Offering of "Petrom", which took place between July 11th - July 22nd.

The Board of Directors of the Exchange deemed as improper the collaboration "Protocol" between the BSE and the Consortium which intermediated the offering, led by the bank "Renaissance" and reproached the general manager that he that he signed it without consulting with the Board of Directors.

The members of the Board of Directors of the Exchange were unhappy with the low visibility of the general manager of the Bucharest Stock Exchange in promoting the Offering, and reproached him that he didn"t warn the intermediary on the need to grant a discount to ensure the success of the Offering, a warning which according to the Board of Directors should have also been published in the press.

Thus, the Board of Directors of the Exchange finally adopts a position on what the BURSA daily called the "irregularity" of the Secondary Offering in "Petrom".

It implicitly responds to the questions that the BURSA editorial office has officially addressed to it, three days after the beginning of the offering.

Even though this reply implicitly confirms the validity of the opinions of the BURSA newspaper, which considered the Offering as deviating from the norms of the market, with the complicity of the Romanian National Securities Commission and of the BSE, it comes too late.

Unjustifiably so, proving that the Board of Directors of the Exchange has its own share of the blame.

Note:

The news was published on the website of the Bucharest Stock Exchange on July 29nd, 2011, at 18:26 hours, ahead of other media sources.