The Romanian Grampet-GFR Group, the most likely buyer of HŽ Cargo, has become the majority owner of the Romanian state railway company SNTFM CFR Marfă. Back in June, it paid 10 million euros as a guarantee to enter the purchase process, and last week the remaining 20.2 million euros was also paid.
The privatization of the Romanian railway company was financed partly by the new majority owner and partly by a banking consortium consisting of Raiffeisen Bank, Banca Transilvania, and OTP Bank, but Grampet did not specify the share of the bank loan. Now, the decision of the local competition protection authority or that of the European Commission is next, they emphasize at Grampet, which is the standard procedure for transactions of this type in the EU. SNTFM CFR Marfă has 11,000 employees and a large fleet of freight wagons.
Grampet–GFR Group is currently participating in strategic privatization in Croatia and Bulgaria to become the first operator of freight railway transport in the Southeast European market.
