Court Allows Rompetrol Rafinare Delisting, Appeal Pending

04.15.2011 By Andrei Circhelan

The Bucharest Court of Appeals decided securities regulator CNVM should pay The Rompetrol Group 1 million lei (EUR1=RON4.0966) in moral damages after the blocked delisting of Rompetrol Rafinare (RRC.RO), the oil group said Friday in a statement.

The Bucharest Court of Appeals decided securities regulator CNVM should pay The Rompetrol Group 1 million lei (EUR1=RON4.0966) in moral damages after the blocked delisting of Rompetrol Rafinare (RRC.RO), the oil group said Friday in a statement.

Thus, the court cancelled the CNVM decision blocking Rompetrol Rafinare's delisting and decided the regulator should pay moral damages, but no material damages. Rompetrol had also requested material damages worth $50 million.

The court's ruling can be challenged by the CNVM in the High Court of Justice within 15 days.

People close to the matter told MEDIAFAX that the securities commission has already appealed the decision.

The Rompetrol Group recently upped its stake in Rompetrol Rafinare to 95%, thus gaining the right to delist the company.

The CNVM blocked late-July the delisting of Rompetrol Rafinare, since the Romanian finance ministry said the operation would cause losses to the state. Romania stands to collect some $600 million form Rompetrol, and the debt was to be converted into stock. As such, delisting would not have allowed adequate evaluation of shares, according to the finance ministry.

Rompetrol owner KazMunayGas decided last year to convert the overall debt into a 44.69% stake, thus enabling Romania to become a shareholder in Rompetrol Rafinare.