GFR and CFR Marfa fight over Hungarian MAV

Grup Feroviar Roman (Romanian Railway Group – GFR), the biggest private railway transport company in Romania, has announced it will take part in the tender for the Hungarian state-owned operator MAV Cargo, alongside CFR Marfa, the Romanian public freight railway carrier, which has also shown an interest. “We will submit an offer for the acquisition of MAV, and continue to look for expansion opportunities. Our activity covers several countries in the area, such as Bulgaria, Serbia and Ukraine,” Gruia Stoica, one of the shareholders of GFR, told ZF. GFR will therefore carry on with its discreet, yet aggressive expansion outside Romania. Recently, the company has acquired a leading coach repair and building company in Serbia, Zelvoz Smederevo for 26.5 million euros. It also holds shares in the Bulgarian Railway Company, which is involved in the private railway transport market in Bulgaria. GFR posted a business worth 57 million euros last year, up 15% in euros against 2005. GFR’s main shareholders are Vasile Didila (29%) and Gruia Stoica (31%), according to data supplied by the Trade Registry.