Who is Templeton fighting for?

The latest statements from Franklin Templeton officials on the possibility of buying back shares reveal how much is at stake when it comes to the price at which Fondul Proprietatea shares will be traded on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. Who will stand to gain if this option is activated: former owners, investment funds, speculators or the Romanian state?

The buying back of shares shortly after the listing could be a gift to speculators, who have bought shares at much lower prices than the nominal value in the last couple of years, although Franklin Templeton says its prime concern lies with those who received shares in compensation for properties confiscated by the communist regime, and with the state, which will have to resume the compensation process next year, using the Stock Exchange average price of shares as a reference. A higher share price would lessen the state’s compensation effort.
The FP manager is willing to use the around 200 million-euro liquidity that the fund has available to buy Stock Exchange shares from the investors that want out, thus reducing its investment resources. The shares bought back can be deleted, in which case the fund loses money, or can be sold later as part of a public offering, in which case the Fund can stand to gain if it sells at a higher price.
Franklin Templeton did not specify, however, which price would be considered good and at which price it would start the buy-back operation.