Romania’s Two Bourses Should Not Merge - Sibex Future Chief

04.11.2011 By Andrei Circhelan

A merger between the Sibiu and Bucharest bourses would not benefit the Romanian stock market, since monopolies are not welcome in capitalism, Monday said Patrick Lyle Young, the future general manager of Sibex.

A merger between the Sibiu and Bucharest bourses would not benefit the Romanian stock market, since monopolies are not welcome in capitalism, Monday said Patrick Lyle Young, the future general manager of Sibex.

The Sibiu bourse, or Sibex, could reach a value of EUR15-20 million within 4-5 years, compared to the current EUR11.4 million, Young told a news conference.

The Sibex board approved Young's appointment as general manager on March 23, but he may take over the new position after Sibex separates the general manager position from the board president position.

The managing boards of the two bourses called shareholders to meet on April 29 and discuss a merger where the Bucharest Stock Exchange would absorb Sibex.

Should shareholders agree with the merger, the boards will be delegated to compile a merger project, which would be later presented for shareholder approval.

The two bourses have tried to merge previously, in the 2005-2006 interval, but the project was rejected by shareholders, who failed to reach consensus on stock conversion. At that time, Ernst & Young had evaluated to Bucharest bourse at EUR75 million and the Sibex at EUR6 million.

At the moment, both markets have complete architectures, with their own depositories, clearing houses and trading systems for stock and derivatives.

The Bucharest bourse has an approximate market value of 325 million lei (EUR1=RON4.1084), while Sibex is worth some RON48 million.