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Gov't wants to buy back 51pc of Daewoo’s shares at Mangalia Shipyard
During the sitting on Wednesday, the Government promoted a memorandum reading that the Romanian state wants to exercise its pre-emptive right over the 51% stake in Mangalia Shipyard that the Koreans of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering want to sell. The problem is that this pre-emption right is exercised at a time of full negotiations between the Koreans and the Dutch owning the Damen Shipyards Group, the largest shipbuilder in the Netherlands, hotnews.ro reports.
In November, Damen announced that it has already signed a contract with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) to acquire its 51% stake in Daewoo Mangalia Heavy Industries (DMHI). The question is what the Romanian state could do with the Mangalia naval shipyard, a company on the verge of bankruptcy, with losses of almost RON 500 million in 2016 and debts of over RON 5.3 billion.
The Ministry of Economy currently holds, through the 2 Mai S.A. Mangalia shipyard 49% of the Daewoo Mangalia shares, and the Koreans hold 51%. The Naval Shipyard 2 Mai Mangalia is a state-owned company with a turnover that did not exceed RON 30 million in 2016. If it owns 100% of the shares, how will the Romanian state succeed in removing the company from the current disastrous situation? What could it do more than one of the largest shipbuilding companies? The same source wonders.
Prime Minister Mihai Tudose announced on Wednesday that the Romanian state wants to exercise its pre-emption right and to buy 51% of the shares owned by Daewoo at the Mangalia shipyard.
“We have tried and it seems we will succeed, to get back 51% of Daewoo’s shares in the shipyard and we want to make use of the sale pre-emption right. We have found out, together with the Justice and Finance specialists, that the Romanian state does not know how to do it. For one week we tried to find out the way the Romanian state can buy shares to have a shipyard. We will have a state shipyard,” Prime Minister Mihai Tudose has told Antena 3 TV private broadcaster.
The Premier says the country must have the capacity to produce and ensure maintenance for ships.
“We have to build some frigates and we can produce them. Others did it. We could ensure the maintenance. It is not possible to have the Danube and the sea and not to have a shipyard,” PM Tudose said.