July 17 (SeeNews) - Romanian power distributor and supplier Electrica [BSE:EL] signed a 752 million lei ($188 million/ 165 million euro) memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the buyout of minority stakes in four of its subsidiaries from investment fund Fondul Proprietatea [BSE:FP].
"The parties plan to execute the transactional documents pertaining to the envisaged transaction after obtaining the necessary corporate and shareholding approvals at Electrica and subsidiaries level by 31 October 2017," Electrica said in a statement submitted with the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) on Friday.
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Shares would be acquired by Electrica together with all rights under the applicable law, including the right to receive dividends, except for those for 2016, which remain to be collected by FP.
FP holds 22% stakes in each of these subsidiaries: SDEE Distributie Muntenia Nord, SDEE Distributie Transilvania Sud, SDEE Distributie Transilvania Nord and Electrica Furnizare.
In March last year, Electrica failed to reach an agreement with Fondul Proprietatea to buy out the stakes due to price differences.
The previous similar negotiations between the two companies, held in 2014, also failed due to price disagreement. At the time, FP asked 175 million euro ($199 million) for its holdings, but Electrica said the price was too high.
Electrica was listed on the Bucharest and London stock exchanges in the autumn of 2014. Currently, Romanian state holds a stake of 48.78% through the energy ministry.
Its shares were traded 4.08% higher to 14.3 lei on Monday on the BVB at 1040 CET.
Blue chip Fondul Proprietatea was set up in 2005 to compensate pre-Communist property owners for their assets nationalised after 1945.
The fund's shares changed hands 2.46% higher at 0.8730 lei by 1047 CET on Monday on the BVB.
($=0.8956 euro)