The Department of Energy within the Ministry of Economy has initiated the procedure for contracting legal services in view of the sale of newly issued shares subsequent to the capital increase of OMV Petrom. The share capital increase is equivalent to the value of the land whose ownership was attested to be OMV Petrom’s following the signing of the privatization agreement as per the acquisition of shares of ‘Petrom’ National Petroleum Company....more »

The Ministry of Finance issued a draft law for amending the Law no. 297/2004 on the capital market. The bill, which can be checked on the ministry’s website, is aimed at aligning the current legislation to the existing standards in order for Romania be ranked as an emergent capital market, thus increasing external visibility and attracting new investors. This legislative approach is part of a broader initiative of a working group lead by the Bucharest Stock Exchange and which comprises representatives of the domestic capital market, the Financial Supervisory Authority and of the National Bank of Romania....more »

The Competition Council has imposed financial sanctions on 11 media companies, the fines amounting to about 3.2 million euro (14.5 million lei). Brand Programming Network, B.V. McCann-Erickson, Groupm Media Operations, Initiative Media, Mediaedgecia Romania, Mindshare Media, Opti Media, Starcom Mediavest Group, United Media Services, Zenith Media Communications are the companies affected, according to a press release of the competition authority....more »

Radu Cataniciu, Partner with Cataniciu & Asociatii, explains to Which Lawyer in Romania how the new insolvency law impacts the public procurement procedures. The Law no.85/2014 brings many innovations and improvements to the insolvency legislation and unifies in one legislative act the procedure of insolvency prevention and the insolvency frame procedure along with the special procedures for the insurance/reinsurance companies and credit institutions and the insolvency cross-border procedure and, for the first time, the insolvency procedure for the corporate groups is regulated....more »

According to the EY M&A barometer for 2013 the number of closed transactions in Romania is 147, with an estimated market size of abount 1.9 billion USD. This figure is about 39 percent higher than in 2012, but mainly due to the UniCredit Tiriac – RBS Bank transaction.  Silviu Stoica, Partner with Popovici Nitu & Asociatii talked to Which Lawyer in Romania about the current trends in Romania's M&A market ...more »

Although much has been said over the years about the potential Romania has to become a developed economy, the truth is that our country has not succeeded to overcome the condition of “promise”, remaining like a rosebud that everyone is waiting to flourish. Last year’s evolution is, indeed, satisfactory and encouraging, but in spite of a significant growth of 3.5 percent of the GDP, the volume of foreign direct investment is still low (only €2.7 billion), large infrastructure works are on standby, these issues being reflected in the economic slowdown recorded in the first half of 2014. For the perception on our country and the economic situation to possibly change there is need of more. ...more »

In a global market hitting $1.7 trillion in the first half of 2014, the highest value in the post-crisis period, Romania’s M&A market generates increasing interest reflected in some important deals closed since the beginning of the year. Yet, further major developments are little likely to happen in the coming months, especially since 2014 is an election year. Although there is no direct influence on the business environment, a state of waiting is perceived in the market, investors being prudent when it comes to M&A transactions. ...more »

After three consecutive years of financial loss, the Romanian banking system returned to profit in 2013 leaving room for some optimism with respect to its profitability in 2014. Lower provision costs amid the slower growth rate of non-performing loans (NPLs), corroborated by a drop in operating expenses subject to staff adjustments and territorial network resizing had a positive effect on the domestic banking sector. Thus, the net aggregate profit of the 40 banks and financial institutions in Romania amounted to lei 48.6 million, following a major loss of lei 2.3 billion in the previous year, shows the annual report released by the National Bank of Romania....more »

Developments in Romania’s energy industry generally accounted for developments in the green energy sector in recent years, a business sector that was like a mirage in a desert that has not got over the nightmare of the economic crisis. But since every good thing comes to an end, the El Dorado the green energy turned into proved to have been only gold plated and rust started to emerge starting last summer. Romania had one of the most generous and profitable support-schemes for renewable energy generation, acting as a magnet for investors seeking easy earnings, who saw in Romania an opportunity for rapid gain....more »

Last years’ Cinderella, the real estate sector, changed the shabby clothes in 2013 and promises to turn into a princess courted by investors. It will not be as charming and attractive as in the period of economic boom when it was rather a chimera, but instead, it will be real and thus, speculative investment will no longer arise.   The unexpected GDP growth last year has favorably influenced a sector which was strongly troubled by the recession, and reawakened investors’ appetite for the Romanian market which has been left aside in the post-crisis period....more »