Zentiva forks out 76.5m euros for Sicomed

Czech company Zentiva, which last month took over 50.99% in pharmaceutical company Sicomed Bucharest, this week will launch a public offer to buy the remaining shares in the Romanian company.

Zentiva is offering 76.5 million euros for the remaining 49.01% in Sicomed. The Czech investors took over the main stake in Sicomed under a deal evaluating the company at 200 million dollars (166.7 million euros).

Contacted by Ziarul Financiar, the main minority shareholders said they were likely to sell their stakes during the offer.

The Czech company is paying 1.37 RON/share, similar to the price they paid to take over the main stake. This price is only 2.2% higher than the price commanded by Sicomed shares at the trading session”s close last Thursday. In the past six months, the prices of Sicomed shares have doubled, due to the company”s sale.

Sicomed”s main minority shareholders are SIF (Financial Investment Company) Muntenia and SIF Oltenia, which own 12% and 10.17%, respectively, in the drugmaker. According to market information, both SIFs are planning to sell their stakes.

“No executive decision has been made in this regard, but we are likely to sell. In my opinion, there is nothing else to do, since Zentiva is planning to delist the company,” said Petre Szel, chairman of Muntenia invest, the company managing SIF Muntenia. “We had a deal with Venoma, that would see us sell when they exit the company,” Szel added.

SIF Oltenia neither confirmed nor denied plans to sell their stake in Sicomed.

“We have made no decision yet and we are in talks with Zentiva officials,” said Florian Buzatu, SIF Oltenia economic manager.

Should the SIFs sell their stakes, Zentiva would increase its stake to 73.16%. However, the Czech investors are planning to control at least 95% in Sicomed, in order to delist the company from the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

Businessman Verestoy Attila, a Senator with UDMR (Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania), who owns slightly less than 2% in Sicomed, has also stated that he will sell. “I will be open to the investor”s offer. I am sorry I have already sold part of the shares,” Attila said.

Sicomed shareholders also include several foreign investment funds, mainly Julius Baer which owns a stake worth more than 2 million dollars.

The offer, brokered by ING Securities, will start on November 9 and will end on December 7. andrei.chirileasa@zf.ro