Romanian businessman Dinu Patriciu has sold a 75% stake in the Dutch-based Rompetrol Holding company to Kazakh company KazMunayGaz. The market value of the Rompetrol group was set at 3.616 billion USD, placing the value of the transaction at 2.712 billion USD.

Patriciu will be chairman of the board of the company. Rompetrol will be managed jointly by the two shareholders but the Kazakh firm will name the majority of the Rompetrol board members.

The contract was signed in Alma Ata on August 24, but shares in some companies of the group continued to be transacted on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) on Monday, August 27.

BVB blocked trading with Rompetrol Rafinare SA, Rompetrol Well Services SA and Vega Ploiesti shares only at 1.20 p.m..

Rompetrol Rafinare shares grew 14.29%, Rompetrol Well Services shares improved 13.69% and Vega Refinery shares rose 21.95% by the time trading was suspended.

According to a press release of the Kazakh company, the transaction will have to receive European Commission approval.

Who is KazMunayGaz

KazMunayGaz (KMG) is a Kazakh state-controlled company currently expanding at a rapid pace. In August this year, KMG started works at a gigantic petrochemical complex valued at 5.2 billion USD, near the city of Atyrau and close to the energy fields of Tengiz and Kashagan which will supply it with oil and natural gas.

The new complex is expected to export 50% of its production to China, 25% to Europe and 15% to Russia.

Morgan Stanley, named to provide consulting services for the sale of Rompetrol shares, said in April that there were six offers for a large stake in Rompetrol, possibly including Gazprom.

Since the beginning of the year, rumor had it on international market that Rompetrol would sell 10-25% of its shares in a trade aimed at boosting funds to support further development in the company.

The Wood & Company investment bank expected Rompetrol would earn 140 to 472 million euro following such a trade.

The Kazakh company is one of the largest in Central Asia and has been trying to enter European markets for several years. It also submitted offers for Unipetrol (the Czech Republic) and Mazeikiu Nafta (Lithuania) but without any success.

Rompetrol Group: 40 companies operating in 13 countries

The Rompetrol Group is formed of 40 companies operating in 13 countries.

Among the most important companies of the group one can count: Rompetrol Rafinare (Petromidia), Rompetrol Petrochemicals, Vega Ploiesti, Rompetrol Downstream, Rompetrol Albania, Rompetrol Bulgaria, Dyneff Franta, Rompetrol Moldova, Rompetrol Georgia, Rompetrol Ukraine, Rompetrol Upstream, Rompetrol Well Services, Ecomaster, Rominserv.

Rompetrol N.V. (TRG) is among the top 25 multinational oil companies in the European Union in terms of income.

The company reported a net profit of 21 million US dollars in the first half of 2007, 35% higher than the previous six months. The turnover for January-June 2007 stood at 2.79 billion USD, 4% more than the same period last year.

Rompetrol Group NV is a multinational oil company based in Amsterdam.

KazMunayGaz to double its refining capacity

KazMunayGaz announced in a press release that Dinu Patriciu was named CEO of the company to insure the continuity in vision and strategy at the helm of the group.

The sale was the result of seven months of negotiations mediated by Energy Group, a London-based branch of Morgan Stanley.

The deal must receive the approval of the European Commission and other competition authorities but the two shareholders said they expected it would be approved enthusiastically as the company would contribute significantly to the security of European energy reserves.

The press release says the transaction would allow KMG to double its refining capacity and boost its retail infrastructure on the European market, while Rompetrol ensures long-term access to fuel providers.