Investment funds swap shares

The largest investment funds on the stock exchange market last weekend swapped shares with a view to secure their positions in certain companies.

According to sources close to the deals, the special transactions on the Stock Exchange were initiated by Broadhurst, the largest investment fund on the capital market, which aimed to gain a larger stake in telecommunication service provider Imsat Bucharest.

Broadhurst waived several minority stakes it held in some of the most important companies listed on the Stock Exchange (Rolast, Terapia Cluj-Napoca and Policolor) in order to gain larger stocks in Imsat.

The investment funds that agreed to swap shares with Broadhurst, namely Romanian Reconstruction Capital – RRC and Romanian Investment Fund & RIF, let go of important stakes in Imsat in order to consolidate their position in Romanian dye producer Policolor.

RIF and RRC, that are both managed by Capital SA, ceded an 8% stake in Imsat and got a 6% stake in Policolor in return. Both Broadhurst, which held 3% in the dye producer, and another investment fund, most likely Romanian Investment Company Cyprus (RIC) were involved in this transaction.

Consequently, Capital came to hold more than 40% stake in Policolor, through the two funds it manages. RIF used to hold a 34.07% stake in the company.

“I can confirm that RIF and RRC sold Imsat shares and bought shares in Policolor, where we wanted to secure our position,” Ioan Florescu, the general manager of Capital SA said.

Siminel Andrei, the representative of New Century Holdings, which manages Broadhurst, could not be reached for comments.

Broadhurst, which previously held a 4% stake in Imsat, now holds 12% in this company and sources close to the transaction say the fund is in talks to take over another significant stake in the company.

The possible sellers could be RIF and RRC, which still hold a 27% stake in Imsat and have to find a way to sell more next year, or another investment Fund, High Enterprises, which holds a 5.57% stake.