Romania's Hidroelectrica shares climb more than 7% on market debut (updated)

Fondul Proprietatea SA

12/07/2023 08:22

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       BUCHAREST, July 12 (Reuters) - Shares in majority
state-owned Romanian hydro power producer Hidroelectrica
 ROH2O.BX  rose over 7% on their debut on the Bucharest Stock
Exchange on Wednesday after Europe's largest initial public
offering so far this year.
   Shares traded at 110.2 lei at 0712 GMT, off an early high of
111.9 lei and up from the IPO price of 104 lei, which had valued
the state-owned company at 46.8 billion lei ($10.4 billion).
    Romania expects the long-awaited sale, which had been under
discussion for over a decade, to help unlock further European
Union recovery funds.
    The government holds 80% in the firm, the country's largest
electricity producer, which has a capacity of 6.3 gigawatts from
182 hydroelectric plants.
    The IPO consisted of existing stock held by sole minority
shareholder Fondul Proprietatea  FP.BX , a fund managed by U.S.
asset manager Franklin Templeton  BEN.N .
    Hidroelectrica's IPO is part of a wave of companies in
Europe rushing to list before the summer lull in what bankers
hope will herald a stronger market recovery in the months ahead
after rocketing interest rates all but froze the market in 2022.
 

 (Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Jason Hovet and Conor
Humphries)
 ((luiza.ilie@thomsonreuters.com; +4021 527 0312; https://www.reuters.com/journalists/luiza-ilie))