8% of Petrom, equally distributed to employees

Current and former Petrom employees will be able to buy shares of the company from the 8% stake they are entitled to directly and in equal share, according to a draft Government decision drawn up by the Ministry of Economy and Trade. Talks on how Petrom employees are to be given the right to purchase shares accounting for 8% of the company’s capital – directly or through the trade union led by Liviu Luca, has caused heavy fluctuations in Petrom shares, as the investors fear that once in possession of the shares, company employees will rush to sell them. The stake that the employees have a right to buy is worth some 650 million euros on the Stock Exchange, equivalent to transactions conducted on the Stock Exchange over a three-month period. According to the draft Government decision, the shares are to be sold directly to anyone who is or was a Petrom employee at any time between the setting up of the company (1997) and the transfer of the property right (December 14, 2004). The right of persons entitled to purchase shares is not transmissible through legal inheritance, through will or in any other way, the draft also specifies.