The top shareholders in the Austrian OMV oil group, the Austrian privatisation agency OIAG and oil investment fund International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) from Abu Dhabi, will not take part in the share capital increase for the financing of the Petrom acquisition and some future investments, according to Reuters.
The Austrian state owns around 35% in OMV, while IPIC owns around 20%. The rest of OMV stakeholders will participate in the capital increase, meaning it will be the majority stake of the group that will be traded on Vienna Stock Exchange. As a result, the liquidity of OMV stock will increase and the state and IPIC will become minority shareholders.
The company's management announced its intention on Wednesday to raise more than one billion euros through a share capital increase combined with a convertible bond issue. The funds are to be used for the consolidation of its Eastern European operations and to finance the acquisition of Petrom.
To acquire 51% in Petrom, OMV will need to pay more than 1.5 billion euros in the coming period, with the transaction expected to be concluded by the end of this year or early next year.
"This combined move of the capital increase and issuing of convertible bonds, will give us access to capital, convertible bonds and debt financing, and allow us to diversify our financing sources and retain our financial flexibility," said OMV's financial officer, David Davies.
"This move will help us sustain our growth and improve our efficiency. Being the leader of the Central and Eastern European oil and natural gas market, we are well positioned for growth and future consolidation of our strong position in the region," explained Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer, executive manager of the Austrian group.
According to Ruttenstorfer, OMV will issue up to 3 million new shares through the capital increase operation, amounting to an increase of 11% on the 27 million existing shares. At a quotation of 205-206 euros per share, the operation will generate funds of over 618 million euros.
OMV's issuing of convertible bonds will generate 550 million euros.
The bond issue will be handled by Deutsche Bank, Erste Bank and Merrill Lynch.
Shareholders will have the right to buy at a ratio of one newly-issued share for every nine shares held, while for bonds the ratio will be two bonds for every 27 shares. adrian.mirsanu@zf.ro
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