Privatisation of State Railway Co’s Freight Unit Attracts Three Candidates
The privatisation procedure of state-owned railway holding company BDZ's freight transport unit has attracted at least three candidates as the deadline for submitting documents expired on Thursday.
Among the candidates participating in the tender procedure is Romania's largest railway operator Grup Feroviar Roman, business newspaper Capital Daily said.
Tender documents were also purchased by Czech company Advanced World Transport, whose main activity is also railway transport. The third candidate is represented by a private lawyer Petko Ilchev who declined to reveal who his client is, Capital Daily reported.
Both financial and strategic investors are eligible to bid as financial investors are required to have had at least 1.0 billion euro ($1.24 billion) in assets or equity holdings under management in each of the last three financial years and to have had an equity capital of no less than 20 million euro in the last financial year.
Strategic investors, meanwhile, should have had a rail freight transport licence for the last 10 years and a turnover of at least 400 million euro in each of the last three years.
The tender winner will have to maintain the company's labor costs and payroll intact for a period of three years.