Cuzman-Ciorcila row stalls TLV 391m RON capital increase

SIF Banat-Crisana (SIF1), run by Ioan Cuzman, challenged the 391m RON (90m euros) capital increase in court that Banca Transilvania (TLV) shareholders approved in April 2009, after more than a year during which the managers of the two companies had harassed each another through lawsuits. The capital increase at TLV (whose chairman and founder is Horia Ciorcila) is the biggest operation of this type carried out on the Stock Exchange in the past two years, with the bank’s management inclusively planning to raise 120m RON (27.4m euros) cash from shareholders to fund its operations, so that it may profit from the gaps left by foreign banks on the market and boost its market share. The preference rights related to the capital increase should have been already trading on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and subscription was due to end in late July, but because of the lawsuit filed by SIF Banat-Cripana the operation will be delayed until September at least, when the first court date was set.