The listing of Nuclearelectrica will not take place this month

The listing of Nuclearelectrica may be postponed again, for autumn, sources close to the situation are saying. The government has pledged to the IMF to sell 10% of the shares of Nuclearelectrica on the Bucharest Stock Exchange this month, but the consultants and the intermediary advise postponing it until autumn, our sources also say, because summer and the period before the summer holiday are not fit for such an operation. The authorities have not yet reached a decision concerning the postponement.

The period of the listing of Nuclearelectrica is not the only item of contention. It seems that the intermediary and the consultants recommend the clarification of the situation of Units 3 and 4 of Cernavodă, a project which lacks investors and needs 6.5 billion Euros. Nuclearelectrica holds 85% of the project company for the two reactors. Those looking to buy the shares need to know the investments which Nuclearelectrica needs on the medium and long term and what the odds of seeing any dividends are.

The quoted sources explain: "This year, the situation of the two units will need to be clarified. It is a very expensive project, which also needs an export opportunity, at least for the beginning. The state is struggling to attract private investors into the project, so that Nuclearelectrica would be left with a minority stake - preferably the contribution in kind, appraised at 20% of the amount of the investment. There is a chance of a major Chinese company getting involved with funds. The important thing is determining whether building Units 3 and 4 is necessary. Their construction will take ten years. These units could replace the major coal-based energy generating units, which have exceeded their operating life. The authorities need to set their priorities for the medium and long term. There is also the option of abandoning the plan to build the two units and to opt for the construction of new, cheaper thermoelectric units. What is important is for a firm decision to exist".

The delegated minister for Energy, Constantin Niţă, was adamant in his public interventions, saying that the authorities would stand by their commitment to the IMF, when it comes to the schedule of the listings of the energy companies, and that the IPO of Nuclearelectrica would be held in May. Of course, the IMF can not force the listing to take place at a specific moment, if the authorities can prove that the operation would cause losses. That is what happened to the secondary offer of Transgaz, which was supposed to take place in autumn, but the Government considered that the price it would have received would have been too low. 15% of the shares of Transgaz were sold in April for 72 million Euros.

The intermediary of the sale of the block of shares in Nuclearelectrica is the consortium made up of SSIF Swiss Capital (syndicate leader) and BT Securities.

Recently, Nuclearelectrica received a new Board of Directors (CA), made up of Daniela Lulache, Ionel Bucur, Dragoş Paul Popescu, Alexandru Alexe, Carmen Radu, Dan Popescu and Alexandru Săndulescu. The recruiting of the members of the Board was done based on the ordinance concerning the selection of professional managers, and the new Board of Directors was approved by the shareholders in the General Shareholder Meeting. Daniela Lulache was elected as the General Manager of Nuclearelectrica.

Mrs. Lulache was the General Manager of the Proprietatea Fund (FP) between 2008-2009. Ionel Bucur is the head of the nuclearelectric plant of Cernavodă and a reputed specialist in the field, and Dragoş Paul Popescu is the general manager of EnergoNuclear (the project company for Units 3 and 4), also a specialist in the field. Alexandru Alexe is the deputy of the head of the Office for the State's Interests and Industrial Privatization (OPSPI), and Carmen Radu is the vice-president of EximBank. Dan Popescu is the secretary general of the Nuclear Agency. Alexandru Săndulescu is the general manager of the Electricity office of the Energy Department led by Minister Constantin Niţă. He has served on the Board of Directors of Nuclearelectrica for a long time.