EFG Eurobank Ergasias Group has completed the acquisition of 100% of Capital S.A. and of its wholly-owned subsidiary Capital Securities S.A., member of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, from Reconstruction Capital Plc, an investment fund operating in Romania since 1997.
EFG Eurobank Ergasias Group has completed the acquisition of 100% of Capital S.A. and of its wholly-owned subsidiary Capital Securities S.A., member of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, from Reconstruction Capital Plc, an investment fund operating in Romania since 1997.
Capital S.A has been very active in advisory services and holds a leading position in Romania in corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, Capital Securities S.A., conducts transactions on behalf of European and U.S. institutional investors as well as Romanian corporate and private clients on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and the Rasdaq, albeit currently possessing a relatively small market share. EFG Eurobank’s aim is to further develop the role of Capital Securities in the Romanian Stock Exchange, by broadening the range of products and services offered.
Capital S.A. was established in 1993 by the EBRD, investment bank Wasserstein Perella and Asset Management Partners. Mr. Ion Florescu will continue to serve as Chairman of the company while Ms Gabriela Ontica, General Manager, will continue to head the current management team.
The acquisition of Capital S.A. follows that of EFG Istanbul Securities A.S. and is part of the Group’s strategy to broaden its activities in investment banking and capital markets in the Southeastern Europe.
The EFG Eurobank Group is currently active in Romania through its subsidiary Bancpost, in which the Group controls a 55.26%-equity stake. Bancpost is one of the fastest-growing banks in the Romanian market, continuously expanding its market share. The acquisition of Capital S.A. will further bolster the already successful presence of the Group, and offer Bancpost’s client base a wider variety of equity and capital-markets products and services. At the same time, it will provide EFG Eurobank’s Greek and international institutional, corporate and private clients access to the entire spectrum of products and services offered in the Romanian capital markets.
The Romanian Stock Exchange is one of the most dynamic emerging–market stock exchanges in Southeastern Europe with a return of 147.3% in $ terms in the period of Jan 1, 2004-April 30, 2005. The 12-month average daily trading volume of the market has increased substantially to $9.44 million on April 30, 2005, from $3.45 million at end-2004, and $1.02 million at end-2003. The current capitalization of the Bucharest Stock Exchange capitalization is $11.67 billion, while the Romanian capital markets regulatory framework has been substantially improved and harmonised with EU legal norms. In light of these elements the Romanian market appears set for steady growth in IPO's, restructuring and mergers & acquisitions that will eventually lead to further expansion in investment banking activity and daily trading volumes.