PODGORICA (Montenegro), September 3 (SeeNews) – The strategic partner that Montenegro will pick to acquire a 30% stake in its flag carrier Montenegro Airlines will have the option to become majority shareholder if all relevant privatisation requirements are upheld, Montenegro's Transport Minister Andrija Lompar said on Thursday.
The strategic partner will be able to raise its stake by at least 21% two years after becoming a shareholder in Montenegro Airlines if all relevant obligations have been strictly met, Lompar told a news conference after a weekly cabinet meeting.
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He said the latest draft of the privatisation strategy for the air carrier is ready and will be sent to the Privatisation Council, which has to set up a tender commission in preparation for the launch of the sale procedure.
The government official provided no timeframe for the start of the privatisation process.
Under the procedure, the government, which currently owns 99.89% of Montenegro Airlines, will offer to a strategic investor to become a 30% shareholder in the air carrier by subscribing a new share issue as part of a capital hike.
“A co-option for the acquisition of a further 21% is now also included, similar to the approach we took with [the sale procedure for a stake in power utility] Elektroprivreda,” Lompar said, adding that he hopes this would make the sale more attractive to investors.
Montenegro was due to sign late on Friday a deal for the sale of 18.3% of its power monopoly Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG) to Italian utility company A2A. The stake is divided 50/50 into 11,457,357 existing shares owned by the state and an equal number of new EPCG shares the state will issue.
Under the terms of the deal with A2A, which already owns 17.2% of EPCG which it acquired earlier this year on the local stock exchange for some 140 million euro ($200 euro), the Italian company is required to buy out the stakes of the minority shareholders at a price equal to the one it would pay for the state-owned shares. A2A has offered a price of 8.4 euro per share. The Italian company will be given an opportunity to buy more state-owned shares and take control of EPCG five years after the deal is signed.
Last year Lompar said the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will subscribe the new share issue of Montenegro Airlines and will help the government find a strategic partner for the sale of a majority stake.
Although the EBRD has proposed that the privatisation process be delayed because of unfavourable market conditions, Lompar on Thursday said Montenegro will press on and launch the sale procedure soon.
($=0.7010 euro)