business review issue 35, december - january

ROMANIA’S PREMIER BUSINESS MAGAZINE DECEMBER, 2014 / VOLUME 18, NUMBER 33

INTERVIEW: Jean Francois Fallacher, CEO of Orange Romania, tellsBR that access to fixed networks and the registration of pre-paidcard users will be major concerns of the telecom industry nextyear »page 18

NEWS

Business year inreviewBR reviews the mainevents and develop-ments that marked theevolution of the business year that isdrawing to an end» page 10

ONLINE

Web wiseBR took the pulse ofthe international techcommunity at How toWeb, talking to angelinvestors, seed fundand Sillicon Valley ac-celerator reps» page 32

DIGITALAGENDA 2020

WITH BENEFITS COMES RESPONSIBILITY, CONCLUDED PUNDITS AT BR’S TELECOM EVENT. THEY DEBATED THE TARGETS THAT ROMANIA MUSTMEET AS PART OF THE DIGITAL AGENDA 2020 AND NETWORK COVERAGE PLANS» PAGE 30

Despite

cautious

optimism at the

beginning of

2014, most M&A

professionals

say activity is

picking up. The

Romanian

market is still

dominated by

small to

medium deals,

with slightly

increasing

values. Experts

expect the

overall volume

of the 2014

M&A market to

remain close

the EUR 1

billion mark »

page 19

NEW S 3www.business-review.eu Business Review | December, 2014 NEW S 3

FOUNDING EDITOR

Bill AveryPUBLISHER

Anca IonitaEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Simona Fodor JOURNALISTS

Otilia Haraga (senior journalist), Simona Bazavan, Oana Vasiliu COPY EDITOR

Debbie Stowe PHOTO EDITOR

Mihai ConstantineanuLAYOUT

Beatric e Gheorghiu ART DIRECTOR

Alexandru OrieanPUBLISHERBloc Notes Media ADDRESS

No. 10 Italiana St., 2nd floor, ap. 3Bucharest, Romania

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

George MoiseSALES & EVENTS DIRECTOROana MolodoiSALES & EVENTS

Sales managers: Ana-Maria Nedelcu,Oana Albu, Raluca ComanescuMARKETINGAna-Maria Stanca, Ana Maria Andrei,Iulia MizganPRODUCTION

Dan MitroiDISTRI BUTION

Eugen Musat LANDLINE

Editorial: 031.040.09.32Office: 031.040.09.31EMAILS

[email protected]@[email protected]

Contents

5 Vodafone to have full 4G coverage at the Bucharest underground byyearend

6 What next on Romania’s political scene?10 Local agriculture blooms on good weather11 Aquisitions reshape local banking landscape12 Energy sector sees large IPO14 Consolidation, the word for telecom in 2014 15 Local IT, between growth and corruption scandals in 201416 Real estate market maintains steady growth in 201417 Retail slows down expansion18 Orange Romania CEO: “We will keep the same level of investments”19 Romanian M&A market recovers after economic crisis30 Strict targets and massive investments line IT&C road32 ‘Sales and marketing is a big problem in Romania’32 ‘Startups need to get to a conditional yes’33 ‘The startup community is seen as higher risk’33 ‘Romania attracts a lot of Hub:raum’s interest’36 ‘Tis the season to be giving38 ‘There’s an infinity of urgent themes to be tackled by theater’40 Putting Romania on the map: cultural festivals42 Cultural calendar 201544 Big box office: the ten highest-grossing local movies this year

ISSN No. 1453 - 729X

NEWS

in briefENERGYUkraine’s Vikoil Ltd opensbranch in RomaniaKiev-based Vikoil Ltd, specialized in ge-ological prospecting, opened a branchin Romania, the only one outside Ukraine,which targets activities in the onshoreand offshore prospecting of oil and gas,mainly in the unconventional category,reports economica.net. The company,the largest of its kind in Ukraine, isowned by Serghei Ushniskiy. The Ro-manian branch will be managed byVladimir Gryshanenko The company’smain activity is 2D and 3D seismicprospecting to research and prospectoil and gas fields.

FINANCINGEBRD lends Eti EUR 23 millionto finance Craiova plantThe European Bank for Reconstructionand Development (EBRD) will grant aEUR 23 million loan to Turkish companyEti to co-finance the construction of abiscuit and cookie factory in Craiova,the lender announced. The cost of thetotal investment in the plant stands atEUR 40 million. The Craiova plant isEti’s first production capacity outsideof Turkey. Eti owns seven plants in itshome country, where it manufactures45 brands of biscuits, cookies and choco-late. Almost 10 percent of its productionis exported.

HUMAN RESOURCESRomania to raise gross minimum wage to RON 1,050 next yearRomania will increase the gross monthlyminimum wage in two stages in 2015,to RON 975 in January and to RON 1,050six months later in July, according to adraft bill drawn up by the Labor Ministry.The currently level is RON 900. FromJanuary 1, the gross minimum wageguaranteed by the state will be RON 975,for a full-time work schedule of 168hours and 40 minutes per month, rep-resenting close to RON 5.8 per hour, ac-cording to the draft. The document alsostipulates that from July 1, 2015, the

sum will rise to RON 1,050, meaningRON 6.23 per hour.

British EMBA to launch in ClujThe Babeş-Bolyai University, Universityof Hull in the UK, Banca Transilvaniaand Electrogrup will launch a Britishprogram of international business stud-ies in Cluj-Napoca in February. TheEMBA (Executive Master of BusinessAdministration) is aimed at business-people with at least three years of ex-perience. According to officials, pro-fessors from the University of Hull willdeliver the course, which will be basedon British teaching and examinationmethods. The MBA is accredited byAMBA International (the Associationof MBAs) and AACSB (the Associationto Advance Collegiate Schools of Busi-ness).

ITBucharest blazes ahead of Europe with broadband speedBucharest is the leader of the pack ina ranking of European capitals basedon the average internet connectionspeed. Users in Romania’s capital canenjoy higher speeds than the residentsof Paris, London or Berlin, accordingto a study from broadband servicessupplier Hyperoptic, quoted by ISPre-view and Mediafax. Bucharest offersan average broadband speed of 81.18Mbps, according to the Hyperopticrankings, which covers 33 Europeancapitals. The number includes bothcompany traffic and household usage.Paris, with an average speed of 78.15Mbps, comes in second, followed byVilnius (Lithuania) with 60.14 Mbps,Stockholm (Sweden) with 58.37 Mbpsand Berne (Switzerland) with 51.19Mbps.

MEDIA Intact ordered to pay RCS&RDSEUR 1 mln in libel caseThe Bucharest Court of Appeal ruledthat Intact waged a libelous campaignagainst its competitor, RCS&RDS. Thecourt ordered Intact to pay EUR 1 mil-lion in “moral damages”. The mediagroup must also broadcast the rulingon its channels over entire month, as a

4 NEWSwww.business-review.eu

Business Review | December, 2014

NEWSin briefpiece of news and in the crawl everyhour. Intact can appeal against the de-cision, which will be applied only whenit becomes final, according to Pagi-nademedia.ro. The conflict betweenIntact’s Antena channels and RCS&RDSstarted in April 2012, when RCS&RDSremoved Antena 1, Antena 3 and Euforiafrom its Digi DTH platform on financialgrounds. Antena Group allegedly askedRCS&RDS for EUR 7 million a year tobroadcast its channels via the Digi DTHnetwork. The latter declined and de-cided to drop the channels from itsprogram. In response, Antena 1 andAntena 3 repeatedly libeled RCS&RDS,calling the latter’s decision to drop theAntena channels “abusive.” RCS&RDSsubsequently took Intact to court.

ONLINEeMAG fined EUR 388,000 in Bulgaria for unfair competitionThe Bulgarian Competition Councilfined Dante International, owner ofonline retailer eMAG, BGN 758,300(EUR 387,500) for unfair practices dur-ing two promotional campaigns, ac-cording to the Sofia Globe, quoted byMediafax. eMAG was fined for com-mercials promising the biggest sale ofthe year. The retailer was ordered topay BGN 551,550, representing 4 percentof its income in 2013, for its BlackFriday campaign. The Council finedthe firm another BGN 206,300, or 1.5percent of its 2013 income, for the “Tas-simo 1+1” campaign, under which cus-tomers who bought an espresso ma-chine received a second as a gift. Thecouncil ruled that under Bulgarian law,the gift was higher than the maximumallowed value and “distorted the com-petitive environment”. eMAG calledthe Bulgarian authorities’ measure

“abusive and unjust” and said it wouldappeal.

Netopia mobilPay introducesBitcoin paymentsNetopia mobilPay, one of the biggestonline payment processors in Romania,announced the integration of transac-tions using Bitcoin, the most widelyused virtual currency in the world.Over 6,000 partner retailers will nowbe able to process Bitcoin, withoutadded development costs, reportedwall-street.ro. According to mobilPayrepresentatives, the company willprocess Bitcoin through a partnershipwith BTCXChange.ro, the local Bitcointrading platform, which currently has3,000 users and has traded USD 2.5million worth of the virtual currencyin 2014.

PHARMADona drugstore chain puts EUR1.5 mln into redesignThe Dona network opened its fifthpharmacy in Bucharest with a new de-sign in Piata Gemeni. The initiative ispart of a comprehensive process ofdecorating and remodeling across theentire network, announced at the be-ginning of the year. So far, 30 pharma-cies in 17 towns and cities have beenredesigned, at a cost of up to EUR 1.5million. The design was done by MatiusStudio, a specialist in architecture andretail branding.

PROPERTYAlesonor sells first housesfrom Amber Gardens Alesonor completed in November thefirst six houses from the Amber Gardenshigh-end residential project it is devel-oping close to Bucharest in the Otopeni-Tunari area. Out of these, four have al-ready been sold, according to the de-veloper. Amber Gardens is the first large-scale high-end residential project con-sisting of energy-efficient “passive hous-es”, according to company representa-tives. The residential project will consistof 60 high-end houses which will becompleted over the next three years.Active in Romania since 2003, Greekdeveloper Alesonor has invested in high-end residential and office projects suchas Magnolia Residence, Almond TreeResidence, Black Tulip Residence andIvy Office.

Globalworth buys first GreenCourt Bucharest building Skanska has sold the first building fromits Green Court Bucharest office projectto Globalworth Real Estate Investmentsfor EUR 44 million, the developer an-nounced. The acquisition is scheduledto be closed in the second quarter of2015. Officially completed this October,the 19,500 sqm (GLA) building is 91 percent leased. Green Court is Skanska’sfirst project in Romania.The constructionof the first building and the foundationof the second required a EUR 46 million investment, company represen-tatives previously announced. Global-worth Real Estate Investments is con-trolled by Greek businessman IoannisPapalekas.

NEPI raises EUR 100 mln for acquisition of Promenada MallSouth African New Europe Property In-vestments (NEPI) announced a EUR 100million equity raise to fund the recentlyannounced acquisition of the PromenadaMall in Bucharest. NEPI bought the

35,000 sqm mall from its developer,Raiffeisen Evolution, at the end of Oc-tober for EUR 148 million. RaiffeisenEvolution had invested EUR 130 millionin the project. NEPI also announced thatit has completed the acquisition of ap-proximately 1.2 hectares of land adjacentto the Promenada Mall which will beused to expand the shopping center andbuild class A office space. The seller isthe Romenergo Group, controlled byRomanian businessman Dragos Bilteanu,and the land currently hosts the com-pany’s headquarters.

RETAILLC Waikiki plans two more unitsfor local market this yearLC Waikiki opened its ninth store in Ro-mania and its fourth store in Bucharest.The firm’s new outlet in Plaza Romaniabegan operating in December, followinga USD 1.5 million investment, said com-pany officials. By the end of 2014, theretailer is planning to open two newshops in Romania, capping an overallinvestment of around USD 4.5 millionin expanding its network this year. LCWaikiki posted USD 22 million of grosssales in Romania in 2013 and is lookingto expand its network over the followingmonths, both in Bucharest and in othermajor shopping centers across Romania.By the end of 2014 the company isaiming to sell more than 2 million itemsnationwide through the existing network.

Burger King returns to Romaniaas part of European expansionplansBurger King Worldwide Inc. has enteredinto a joint venture to help expand itsbusiness in Romania, Poland, Italy andGreece, writes CNBC. The restaurantoperator said that the joint venture,called Burger King SEE SA, has signed along-term master franchise and exclusivedevelopment agreement that includessub-franchise rights for all of the markets.Its plan is for the joint venture to ag-gressively develop Burger King restau-rants across Southern and Eastern Eu-rope and create more than 10,000 newjobs within the first five to seven yearsof the venture. Burger King is alreadypresent in Poland and Italy, and will re-turn to Romania after leaving in 2012following the insolvency of the localbranch. Burger King previously enteredthe Romanian market in 2008 and thefast food operator ended 2010 with aloss of EUR 1.27 million, higher thanthe EUR 1.13 million loss in 2009. At the end of 2010, it had a staff of 153and only eight restaurants in Romania.The brand was brought to the countryby investors Marius Nasta and Eli Davidai.

MONTH AHEADDecember 13

New labelling system for food productsThe European Union has mandatedthat the food labelling system mustchange as of today. The new labels willprovide more information in a biggerfont to make them more visible. Theyalso need to specify what allergenic in-gredients the product contains and itscountry of origin. Retailers have sixmonths to comply with the new stan-dards.

December 15

Transport Master PlanThe latest revised version of the Trans-port Master Plan will be presented bythe government for its first reading.The strategic document under whichRomania can receive European fundingfor big infrastructure projects, validuntil 2030, includes as main objectivesthe construction of over 650 km of mo-torway and over 2,200 km of expressroad.

December 21

Parliament votes on the budgetPM Victor Ponta announced last weekthat he hopes the 2015 budget will bevoted in by Parliament on December 21.The new budget includes a 1.83 percentdeficit, as agreed by the Bucharest au-thorities, the International MonetaryFund and the European Commission.The three parties involved in negotia-tions are also banking on 2.4 percenteconomic growth for Romania in 2015.

December 21 - 22

Klaus Iohannis assumes officePresident-elect Klaus Iohannis will besworn into office, assuming the role ofhead of state. The former mayor ofSibiu won the presidential elections onNovember 16 with 54.5 percent of votesto Victor Ponta’s 45.5 percent.

January 1

New gross minimum wage goes up

MOST READ www.business-review.eu

1 Enel Energie GM commits suicide by jumping off HQ building in Bucharest

2 Netopia mobilPay introduces Bitcoin payments

3 Enel Romania confirms death ofGM, refers to it as an accident

4 EU grants Romania an extra EUR260 million for highway projects

5 Mariana Gheorghe, OMV Petrom:Black Sea is back on oil & gasmap

NEWS 5www.business-review.eu Business Review | December, 2014

Vodafone to have full 4G coverage at theBucharest underground by yearend

∫ OTILIA HARAGA

What are the priorities for the network

development in 2015?

We will continue to expand our 4Gcoverage and to add more services toour performing 4G network. Voda-fone Romania is currently covering 45percent of Romania’s population with4G services, while 4G+ is being de-ployed in six big cities: Bucharest,Brasov, Cluj, Iasi, Timisoara andPloiesti. Vodafone Romania’s 4G net-work covers 100 percent of the popu-lation in 19 major cities: Bucharest,Brasov, Cluj, Timisoara, Constanta, Iasi, Craiova, Arad, Bacau,Ploiesti, Pitesti, Sibiu, Baia Mare, Botosani, Buzau, Galati, Oradea,Targu Mures and Braila. In the next financial year, we will con-tinue to grow our 4G and 4G+ cover-age in Romania’s key cities and majortourism destinations.

Higher mobile data adoption and smartphone penetration and pushing the M-Pesa service forward are the maindrivers in the Vodafone strategy for next year. Giovanni Chiarelli, technology director at Vodafone Romania, tellsBR that by the end of the year, the operator will be providing 4G speeds in all Bucharest underground stations.

We will continuously enrich theSupernet umbrella, both on 4G andon 3G. (…) Our focus will also be tostrengthen our position as marketleader on the enterprise segment.

Do you plan to launch 4G services on

the underground?

We currently cover with 2G and 3G100 percent of the Bucharest under-ground stations and tunnels. In termsof 4G coverage, we cover 53 stationsout of 56 in the M1, M2, M3 and M4tunnels. By the end of the year, the 4Gcoverage will reach all the under-ground stations and tunnels.

What are Vodafone’s investment prior-

ities next year?

We want to get every Romanian onthe internet. Thus, since the launch ofSupernet, we have seen a growth ofover 150 percent in terms of mobiledata usage on smartphones.

We are constantly investing in Ro-mania, each year, and now we add asupplementary EUR 55 million invest-ment into our network and our storesover the next two years, as part of theSpring program.

We will continue to focus on grow-

ing the mobile data adoption, smart-phone penetration, and M-Pesa,while also concentrating on our mainnetwork differentiators, in the 4G and4G+ area.

Are there any plans to provide TV

services in Romania next year?

We already provide access to TV,video and music content through ourpartnerships with SeeNow and Zonga;cross-platform apps powered byVodafone.

Are there any plans to offer fixed te-

lephony services for the consumers?

Aside from the business customers,Vodafone Romania’s consumer sub-scribers benefit, since May 2012, fromfixed internet and voice services,through integrated solutions that pro-vide broadband internet connectionsand fixed telephony services.

[email protected]

6 POLITICAL YEARwww.business-review.eu


What next on Romania’s

political scene?

∫ SIMONA BAZAVAN

“The campaign is over and now weneed to begin work,” president-electKlaus Iohannis, head of the NationalLiberal Party (PNL), the main opposi-tion party, told Romanians in his vic-tory speech on November 16. The55-year-old former physics teacher,who had served as mayor of Sibiusince 2000, had just won an unex-pected victory against Victor Ponta,Romania’s PM and head of the ruling

Social Democrat Party (PSD). The ap-pointment will become official on De-cember 21 when he will be sworn in,replacing Traian Basescu who hasheld the position for two consecutiveterms.

Ponta had initially started the campaign as favorite, even leading some of the exit polls released after the second round of voting. An ethnic-German and an Evangelical Lutheran in a largely Orthodox Christian country,Iohannis was perceived by some as

uncharismatic by Bucharest political standards.

Despite the PSD’s nationalisticcampaign and religious attacks on hisopponent, Iohannis managed to scoreimportant points due to public dissat-isfaction with the government, andan overall disillusionment with localpoliticians. He promised Romanianshe would be a different kind of presi-dent promoting a different way ofdoing politics, and that this will leadto a different kind of Romania, one of

“things done properly”.

His message gained momentum inthe last two weeks of the campaign –especially via social media – afteranger over the way the governmenthad organized the voting process forcitizens abroad erupted into streetprotests across the country. Thou-sands of Romanians waited in line forhours to vote in polling stationsacross Europe with many unable tocast their ballot by the time pollingstations closed.

continued on page 8

With the EU parliamentary elections in May and the presidential election in November, Romania has had a tur-bulent political year in 2014. The economy has fully felt the effect of this and the business environment is nowlooking forward to what should be a stable and more predictable year. However, recent political developmentshint at more turmoil to come.

President-elect’s message gained momentum in the last two weeks of the campaign – especially via social media – following anger over the way the government hadorganized the voting process for citizens abroad.

7www.business-review.eu Business Review | December, 2014

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”In over two decades of experienceon the rent-a-car services marketin Romania, we have learned thatour customers′ satisfaction is thebest measure for the quality ofour work. With a wide range of ve-hicles in our fleet and continuousinvestments in people and tech-nology, we want to change ourcustomers′ business travels intosafe, pleasant, carefree experi-ences”, Andrei Panoiu, Commer-cial Director at AVIS, partner inthe MasterCard Elite Biz pro-gramme. ”Through our services,you will benefit from promptitudeand professionalism, two valuesthat guide us in everything we do.Besides that, for every car rentalmade in Romania, you will pay20% less if you own a MasterCardBusiness or Corporate card.”

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All the MasterCard Elite Biz of-fers are available on the Mas-terCard website: www.master-card.ro/biz and valid, in thecurrent form, until the end ofthe year. We are waiting for youto discover them.

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8 POLITICAL YEARwww.business-review.eu


continued from page 10

The government failed to remedythe situation by the second round ofelections, blaming the queues on theunexpected turnout.

Back home the turnout was unex-pectedly high as well – approximately62 percent, the highest level since1996.

In the end Iohannis won by an un-expected and comfortable 54.5 per-cent of all votes, meaning that he beatPonta by approximately one millionvotes. What should be noted is thateven without the votes obtained out-side Romania – where he won by astaggering 89.7 percent of the 379,000cast votes – he would still have de-feated his opponent.

Clinging to powerSoon after conceding defeat to his op-ponent on the night of November 16following the second round of elec-tions, Ponta stated that he saw no rea-son to resign as PM.

Given that the PSD and its allieshold the majority in Parliament andthe next parliamentary elections willtake place in 2016, Ponta could indeedmaintain his position. However, bythe end of November the ruling coali-tion had suffered its first loss after theUDMR, a Romanian ethnic Hungarianparty, said it would leave government.Alongside the Conservative Party (PC),the National Union for Romania’sProgress (UNPR) and the Liberal Pro-gressive Party (PLR), the PSD stillmaintained a 60 percent majority inparliament, but opposition leaderssuggested that this could well change."Everybody wants to be on the win-ning side. So, it is possible that duringthe coming weeks or months we willsee changes in Parliament," said Io-hannis at the end of November.With more PMs abandoning the rul-

ing coalition by the end of the year,Ponta’s government is looking at anuncertain future in 2015. "So it's pos-sible that during 2015 we will havethis shift which could give the PNL amajority, which it would then use tochange the government,” the presi-dent-elect told Reuters.

Moreover, Ponta faces uncertaintywithin his own party next year. In thePSD’s first official meeting after its de-feat, it was decided that a party con-gress to elect new leadership wouldbe held in March. Following the samemeeting, three preeminent partymembers – Mircea Geoana, the PSD’slosing presidential candidate in the2009 elections and former party pres-ident; Marian Vanghelie, mayor ofBucharest’s Fifth District; and DanSova, a former party spokesperson –were ousted for their public opposi-tion to the party’s leadership. Scandalerupted soon after, with many ana-lysts attributing this to what theycalled the PM’s desperate cling topower and the party’s dire need forinternal reform.

By early December, Ponta hadgone back on his pledge to resign afterthe National Anti-corruption Direc-torate (DNA) took over the investiga-

tion into the irregularities reportedduring the voting process in the dias-pora. “Should the DNA start a crimi-nal investigation against me, againstTitus Corlatean (e.n. former externalaffairs minister) I will definitely re-sign,” the PM had said, according toMediafax. Ponta conceded that theelections were “poorly organized”outside Romania but said that it wasall an “unintended error” and not apremeditated attempt to underminevoting abroad.

The government’s prioritiesfor 2015By the end of November the mostpressing matter on the government’sagenda was drafting the 2015 state budget and having it passed by Parliament. The PM had also announced plans for a governmentreshuffle.

Calin Popescu Tariceanu, presi-dent of the Romanian Senate and head of the PLR, said in early December that the 2015 state budgetwould be adopted by Parliament byDecember 20 and that the govern-ment reshuffle should normally fol-low.

“We’ve already discussed theschedule for activities related to thebudget, meaning negotiations be-tween the government and the Inter-national Monetary Fund (IMF) andthen sending the draft to the Parlia-ment. (…) We’ve set a target to finishthese proceedings by December 20,″he stated. Tariceanu’s statementcame after the delegate minister forthe budget, Darius Valcov, said on No-vember 26 that the budget would becompleted by the end of Novemberand should be sent to Parliament onDecember 10.

Further delays are expected afterit was revealed in early December thatthe negotiations with the IMF and theEuropean Commission (EC) hadturned tense. The two institutionshad allegedly asked the Romaniangovernment to push to reduce thedeficit to 0.9 percent of GDP in 2015, ademand which local authoritiescalled unacceptable, according to Me-diafax.

As for plans to reshuffle the gov-ernment, the new cabinet is due to beannounced by December 20 as well.The UNPR, PC and PLR, which has re-cently joined the ruling coalition, areexpected to get two seats each andthe rest will be appointed by the PSD.The new government will see notonly new ministers but some newministries as well, according to mediareports.

Regardless of who gets which brief or whether Ponta resigns, the new government will have a hard job next year. After a turbulent2014, the business community is hoping for some much needed stabil-ity and predictability and for a shift of attention towards the local economy.

There will be no tax increases in2015, promised Ponta, and there iseven talk about cutting VAT on someproducts. By what means this couldbe achieved while still meeting thedeficit target and allocating money toinvestments remains unclear. Debatehas yet to reach this level as localpoliticians remain more concernedabout scrambling for position in theaftermath of the elections and lessabout the economy.

[email protected]

A staggering 70.1 percent of Roma-nians aged between 18 and 30 votedfor the PNL president on November16, according to a Curs – Avangardeanalysis. His popularity droppedamong older voters, with the formermayor securing 54.9 percent ofvotes cast by those aged between 31and 60 and only 31.3 percent ofthose aged above 61. Overall, he wasvoted for by 52.1 percent of bothmen and women and 56.3 percentof Romanians living in urban areas.His popularity dropped in direct cor-relation with voters’ education level.Some 68.2 percent of Romanianswith a university diploma and 54.6of those with a high school diploma

voted for Iohannis, while only 35.3percent of those without a highschool diploma cast their vote forthe new president.

By geographical and historicalregions, Iohannis was voted for by64.8 percent of Romanians living inTransylvania, 46.1 percent of thosefrom Moldova and 39.4 percent ofMuntenia inhabitants. In the capitalBucharest he took 58.2 percent.

A surprising fact is that Iohanniswas voted for by 85.1 percent of theHungarian minority, despite the factthat the Hungarian party, the UDMR,was part of the ruling coalitionalongside the PSD until late Novem-ber.

Who voted for Iohannis?

After loosing the elections, Victor Ponta stated that he saw no reason to resign as PM

"Everybody wants to

be on the winning side.

(…) So it's possible

that during 2015 we

will have this shift

which could give the

PNL a majority, which

it would then use to

change the govern-

ment,” president-electKlaus Iohannis

62 %The turnout in the second electionsround, the highest level since 1996

10 BUSINESS YEAR IN REVIEWwww.business-review.eu


The most important event for the local agriculture sector this year by far has been the negotiation and cominginto force of the National Program for Rural Development (NPRD) for the period 2014-2020, which regulateshow local farmers can gain access to the EUR 8 billion of EU funds available for investment projects until 2020.In the meantime, Romania has reported a good agricultural year, albeit, as before, mostly the result of goodweather conditions.

Local agriculture bloomson good weather

∫ SIMONA BAZAVAN

High production but low productivityFirst estimations point to a good agri-cultural year in 2014 with most cropsreaching higher production levelsthan last year.

Romania is expected to report awheat production of some 7.37 mil-lion tons in 2014, below the initial es-timation of 8 million, but still slightlyabove last year’s level, according todata from the Ministry of Agricultureand Rural Development (MADR).Corn production is projected to reachapproximately 11 million tons, whichwould make Romania the secondbiggest producer in Europe behindFrance.

Despite such a high ranking, Ro-mania continues to report some of thelowest yields in the EU. Some 2.5 mil-lion ha of land are cultivated withcorn in Romania, the highest surfaceof all EU members, however the pro-duction is below that of countries thatcultivate smaller surfaces. The aver-age yield is 4-4.5 tons/ha whileFrance reports an average of 8 tons/ha,Daniel Constantin, Romania’s agricul-ture and rural development minister,said this September.

Land fragmentation remains themain factor behind the low produc-tivity. About half of Romania’s farmland is today divided between 97 percent of the country’s farmers,but through the new NPDR and newrules for the allocation of farmingsubsidies, the government hopes tochange this.

Some of the subsidies Romanianfarmers will be receiving through to 2020 will be conditioned by their joining a farmers’ cooperative orfarmers’ group. The MADR is alsoworking with the Ministry of Financeon coming up with a fiscal exemptionthat would apply to all transactionsinside a cooperative, MADR represen-tatives announced in 2014. All this should result in the creation ofclusters made up of small farmers,which in turn would improve productivity.

New NPRD promises bettertargeted investment programsLocal authorities have announcedthat Romania should close the finalnegotiations over its NPRD by the endof the year. Increasing agriculturalproduction through higher productiv-ity and investments in the productionof value-added goods are the maintwo objectives the Romanian author-ities had in mind in drafting the NPRDfor 2014-2020, according to ministryrepresentatives.

The program includes 16 measures,down from the 24 in the NPRD for2007-2013, which officials say shouldallow a better focus on the needs oflocal farmers. Special focus will begiven to investments in productionfor both small and large farms, with adedicated program for investments inorchards, the integration of produc-tion chains and incentives for youngRomanians looking to set up a farm-ing business in rural areas.

The new NPRD also comes withthe promise of simplified and more

flexible application procedures andless bureaucracy. As part of this at-tempt, an online application tool wasmade available this May along with aprice reference list for equipment ac-quisition. The ministry has also com-mitted to scaling back the control ofbeneficiaries to a minimum.

The NPRD was drafted within thecontext of a reformed Common Agri-cultural Policy (CAP) which takes intoconsideration the specific structuralsituations of different EU memberstates and allows each country tospend EU funds based on its own de-velopment strategy. The CAP reformwas the work of Romanian EU com-missioner for agriculture and rural de-velopment Dacian Ciolos. His termended this year and in November PhilHogan took over the position on be-half of Ireland.

In addition to the new NPRD, Romanian farmers also saw changesto the subsidies system in 2014. As of this year, Romanian farmersstarted receiving higher subsidies inthe form of the single area payment

scheme. Over 2014-2020, Romaniawill have access to some EUR 10.6 bil-lion in direct payments, up by 47.5percent compared to the 2007-2013period.

First call for projects underNPRD 2014-2020This May the MADR launched the firstcall for projects under the NPRD forthe period 2014-2020.

Under the first call for projects,farmers could apply through Measure121 – the modernization of farms, for which EUR 150 million is available.Out of this, EUR 35 million has been allocated to family farms, and another EUR 15 million is beingprovided for the meeting of qualitystandards in the zoo-technical sector. The remaining EUR 100 millionis divided equally between vegetaland animal farms with separate allocations for equipment acquisitionand the construction or moderniza-tions of facilities.

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Bits and pieces: Land fragmentation remains the main factor behind Romania’s low productivity

BUSINESS YEAR IN REVIEW 11www.business-review.eu Business Review | December, 2014

Enel launches newsupport servicesfor domestic residential clients

The service will allow clients to re-ceive assistance at affordable pricesand to access a network of profes-sionals from varied fields, 24/7.Customers can benefit from a pro-motional period of up to fourmonths for the service. The service,launched in partnership with EuropAssistance, is called Enel Asistenta.

The Enel Asistenta option offers awide range of services: repairs andinterventions to indoor electric in-stallations, locksmith repairs, andelectric boiler repairs through anetwork of specialized companiesmanaged by Europ Assistance.Moreover, the customers whochoose the Enel Asistenta+ optionreceive an unlimited number of in-terventions per year and a vehicletowing service.

The Enel Asistenta package, whichoffers residential clients access tomaximum 2 requests per year ispriced at RON 11.99 /month, includ-ing VAT.

The Enel Asistenta+ package, whichoffers residential clients access toan unlimited number of requestsper year, is priced at RON23.99/month, including VAT.

For any of the two packages, thecost of an intervention covered bythe subscription can reach a maxi-mum of RON 450.

Moreover, customers with anMyEnel account benefit from a two-month promotional period of EnelAsistenta, free of charge, whilethose who, besides the MyEnel ac-

count, have also the electronic billoption activated, will enjoy fourmonths of Enel Asistenta packagefree of charge.

In 1963, with the help of GeneraliGroup, Europ Assistance came intobeing by inventing a totally pioneer-ing concept: assistance, coveringrisks, accidents, travel and everydaylife, reflecting changes in society.Shored up by 44 companies andbranches in 33 countries, Europ As-sistance has deployed a network oflocal experts covering the five con-tinents. To provide its customerswith solutions 24/7, Europ Assis-tance has a staff of 4,700 assistanceagents in 35 call centres around theworld.

Active on the Romanian marketsince 2005, Enel is currently thecountry’s largest private investor inenergy, with operations in powerdistribution and supply as well asrenewable energy production. Thecompany has over 3,400 employeesand provides services to 2.7 millioncustomers in three key areas of thecountry: Muntenia Sud (includingBucharest), Banat and Dobrogea,accounting for one third of the elec-tricity distribution market in Roma-nia.

Enel is Italy’s largest power com-pany, and Europe’s second listedutility by installed capacity. It is anintegrated player, selling power andgas to around 61 million customers.Enel operates in 32 countries world-wide, with a net installed capacityof over 95,000 MW and more than71,000 employees.

PARTNER CONTENT

Power company Enel announced it was introducing on the

Romanian market a new range of assistance services for domestic

repairs and interventions targeted at the residential clients of

Enel Energie Muntenia and Enel Energie.

Aquisitions reshapelocal banking landscape

Acquisitions point to consolidation moves in banking sectorBanca Transilvania, Romania’s thirdlargest lender, announced it was ac-quiring the majority share package forVolksbank Romania from Volksbank,DZ Bank/AG, WGZ Bank AF in Ger-many and BPCE in France. BancaTransilvania and Volksbank will func-tion as separate entities until thetransaction is finalized, after whichthe Austrian bank’s local unit will beintegrated into BT’s operations.

According to reports by Bloomberg,the parent company of Volksbank Romania was looking to sell in orderto lower its deficit but discussions arestill in the early stages and may noteven formalize. Banca Transilvania re-ported in August a net profit of RON212 million (EUR 48 million) for thefirst half of the year, up 17.7 percent onthe year, fueled by a rise of the net in-terest margin.

Earlier in the year, OTP Bank Ro-mania had started the integrationprocess for the local subsidiary of Por-tugal’s Millennium bcp. OTP Bank Ro-mania, a member of Hungarian groupOTP, acquired Millennium BCP in adeal worth EUR 39 million which in-cludes shares and integration cost.Millennium Bank has a portfolio of80,000 clients and a network of 56 of-fices and 58 ATM’s. After integration,OTP will have 400,000 clients, 150 of-fices and over 160 ATM’s.

At the beginning of the year Span-ish lender Caixabank closed down itsRomanian subsidiary. The bank en-tered the local market in 2007 withhopes of becoming a significant playeron the corporate segment. The bankreached break-even in 2011 and re-ported a net profit of RON 8.6 million(EUR 1.9 million) in 2012, according todata from the Ministry of Public Fi-nance. The local subsidiary has fi-nanced a series of real estate projects,and some of them have filed for bank-ruptcy such as Laguna Residence, de-veloped by GEA.

EBRD buys equity stake inthe BVBThe European Bank for Reconstruc-tion and Development (EBRD) has ac-quired a 4.99 per cent stake in theBucharest Stock Exchange (BVB), the

largest in South-Eastern Europe.With this equity interest buyout,

the EBRD says it is supporting the Ro-manian government’s comprehensivecapital market development program,which aims to improve the function-ing of the local capital markets, en-hance liquidity and increaseavailability of debt and equity offer-ings in the local capital markets. Ro-mania has set a goal for the stockexchange to be upgraded to emergingmarket status – whereby Romanianstocks would be included in the MSCIEmerging Markets Index –from its cur-rent placement in the MSCI FrontierMarkets Index. The EBRD will supportlegal and regulatory reforms to helpachieve this goal.

The Bucharest Stock Exchange hasbeen listed on its own market since2010. As of September 2014 it listed 83companies including the largest cor-poration in Romania OMV Petrom,Romgaz, Fondul Proprietatea, BRDGroupe Societe Generale, Banca Tran-silvania, Electrica and Transgaz. Thetotal market capitalization is almostEUR 30 billion.

Scandal stirs insurance industry Former Financial Supervision Author-ity ASF president, Dan Radu Rusanu,businessman Ilie Carabulea and Mar-ian Marzac, former member of ASF’sboard, were indicted for their involve-ment in the “Carpatica File” and arecharged with acts of corruption.

Ilie Carabulea, owner of SC AtlassibSRL and SC Transcar SRL, was chargedwith setting up a criminal group, trad-ing in influence, bribery, using confi-dential information, forgeryinstigation, according to a press re-lease from the National Anticorrup-tion Authority. Marian Marzac, formerdirector of SC Carpatica Asig SA, wasaccused of constituting an organizedcriminal group, trading in influence,accepting bribery, abuse in serviceagainst public interests. Dan Radu Ru-sanu was charged for taking part in or-ganized criminal activity, influencingstatements, favoring the offenders,using his influence for personal interests and in exchange of materialgoods.

[email protected]

Announcements of two takeovers are reshaping thelocal banking sector, while EBRD’s acquisition of anequity stake in the Bucharest Stock Exchange is givingnew impetus to the local capital markets development.



The IPO of electricity supplier Electrica marked one of the most important moments of the year on theBucharest Stock Exchange, while the government passed a partial exemption for big industry on green certifi-cates. Electrica makes biggest

IPO in history of BVB The initial public offering of electric-ity supplier and distributor Electricaraised RON 1.95 billion (EUR 444 mil-lion) from selling a 51 percent stake onthe capital market. It is the biggestIPO so far in the history of theBucharest Stock Exchange (BVB).

The final offering price for institu-tional and large retail investors wasset at RON 11 per share (minimumprice included in prospectus) andUSD 13.66 per global depositary re-ceipts (GDR). The listing was carriedout in Bucharest and London. Atthese prices, Electrica had a marketcapitalization of RON 3.81 billion(EUR 868 million). Electrica SA is thesecond Romanian privatized com-pany to be listed in London; RomgazSA debuted on the main market inNovember 2013. Following consulta-tions with the global coordinators ofthe offering, Electrica decided to real-locate close to 6 percent of the sharesfrom large investors to retail investors,taking their tranche to over 20 per-cent of the offering. For small retailinvestors, Electrica granted up to1,000 shares per buyer and provideda 5 percent discount in the first fivedays of the offering. The companyhad announced it would invest EUR1.4 billion in energy distribution net-work efficiency, automation and ex-pansion by 2018.

Electrica had Citigroup GlobalMarkets Limited, Raiffeisen Bank andSociete Generale as global coordina-tors and joint bookrunners for the of-fering. BRD-Groupe Societe Generalewas manager and SSIF Swiss Capitalthe distribution agent.

Enel announces exit fromRomaniaItalian utility firm Enel announced itwould seek to sell its distribution andsales assets in Romania, as part of awider EUR 6 billion asset sale pro-gram that was started in 2013, in a bidto reduce the group’s financial debt.

In Romania, the company aimed tosell a 64.4 percent stake in Enel Dis-tributie Muntenia and Enel EnergieMuntenia, a 51 percent stake in EnelDistributie Banat, Enel Distributie Do-brogea and Enel Energie, as well as its100 percent interest in services com-pany Enel Romania, which is con-trolled through Enel InvestmentHolding.

The company entered Romania in2005, when it acquired the electricitydistribution and supply companiesElectrica Banat and Electrica Dobro-

gea, as part of a privatization programpursued by the government. In 2008,it took over the electricity supply ofBucharest through Electrica Munte-nia Sud.

Enel said these companies hadrevenues of EUR 1.1 billion andEBITDA of EUR 289 million last year.They distributed 14TWh of electricityand had sales of 9TWh in 2013. Thefirm has 2.4 million residential cus-tomers in Romania, giving it a marketshare of 20 percent, while another200,000 are businesses, with a mar-ket share of 38 percent.

The utility firm is also looking tosell its generation assets in Slovakia,where it controls the biggest electric-ity producer Slovenske Elektrarne.The company has 5,700 MW in in-stalled capacities comprising nuclear,hydro and thermal facilities. Last year,the Slovak energy company postedrevenues of EUR 2.8 billion andEBITDA of EUR 708 million.

Enel aims to raise EUR 4.4 billionfrom selling its operations in Romaniaand Slovakia, together with othernon-strategic assets, under the debt

reduction plan. The company has al-ready cut its debt by EUR 1.6 billion todate.

Citigroup and UniCredit have beenappointed financial advisors for thesale process in Romania.

The firm is also active in the localrenewable sector, through Enel GreenPower Energy. It had a portfolio of498MW in wind and another 36W insolar installations at the end of 2013.

More investments announced in oil & gas and nuclear sectorsOil and gas producer OMV Petrom an-nounced it would start the redevelop-ment of the Tazlau oil field, located innorth-eastern Romania, in BacauCounty. The project entails invest-ments of around EUR 30 million over2014-2015.Tazlau is a mature oil field,producing for more than 60 years,with a daily production of below 1 per-cent of OMV Petrom’s total oil produc-tion in Romania.

At the same time, Nuclearelectrica,the nuclear energy power producer,selected China General Nuclear Power

Corporation (CGN) as investor for thedevelopment of two new nuclear reac-tors in Cernavoda, which will costaround EUR 6.5 billion.

The Chinese company was the onlybidder in the tender procedure organ-ized by Nuclearelectrica.

The Chinese investors will hold atleast 51 percent of the joint venture,according to the project strategy. Atpresent, the two nuclear reactors inCernavoda cover roughly 20 percentof Romania’s electricity consumptionannually.

Partial exemption for greencertificates aquisition

This year, the government ap-proved a state aid scheme worth EUR750 million that will provide partialexemption for the acquisition of greencertificates by large industrial con-sumers, in a bid to prevent the reloca-tion of production facilities and joblosses. The measure, which was lob-bied heavily for by the association ofbig energy consumers, will providethree exemption rates of 40 percent,60 percent and 85 percent, dependingon the energy consumption intensity.Around 300 companies are expectedto benefit from this measure, which isbased on the draft guidelines on envi-ronmental and energy state aid for2014-2020 promoted by the EC. Thestate aid scheme will be managed bythe Ministry of Economy. According toenergy experts, the exemption willhave an adverse effect on renewableproducers which will have difficultiesin selling their green certificates andkeeping their projects profitable.

Pundits commented throughoutthe year that some renewable projects,interconnections and offshore oil andgas developments have strong poten-tial to attract investments. Romania’srenewable boom has generated overEUR 6 billion of investments over thepast five years.

The installed capacities in biomassand biogas had reached 91MW and9.6MW, respectively, by the end of Au-gust of this year. Experts say investorshave held back from developing suchprojects due to additional require-ments in securing the right raw mate-rials to power them. Most of themhave gathered to the wind and solarsectors, where the installed capacitieshave reached 2.8GWh and 1.2GWh, re-spectively. The government’s inter-vention to cut the incentives for therenewable sector has dramatically re-duced the pipeline of new projects.

[email protected]

Pundits say renewable producers will be affected by the partial exemption forthe aquistion of green certificates

Energy sector sees large IPO



The telecom market has seen further consolidation in 2014, with a 1.4 percent drop in the mobile phone userbase to 22.3 mln and also 1.9 percent drop in landline telephony users to 4.6 mln. Convergent offers, rebranding,network development and the slash in termination rates were major milestones for telecom players year.

Consolidation, the word fortelecom in 2014

∫ OTILIA HARAGA

The landline telephony subscriber basedropped 0.8 percent in H1, 2014, to 4million, while the mobile subscriberbase rose 1.3 percent to 9.4 million, ac-cording to data from Romanian tele-com regulator ANCOM.

In 2014, Romania had 9.4 millionsubscribers and 12.9 million prepaycard users.

The mobile telephony penetrationrate dropped from 112 percent in June2013 to 110 percent in June 2014.

Though there were fewer activeusers, the use of mobile phone serviceshas augmented.

Active broadband connections inRomania rose by 22.8 percent in H1,2014, to 18.3 million, on the backdropof a 28.5 percent increase in the num-ber of mobile internet connections to14.4 million, according to ANCOM.

Turning to fixed internet connec-tions, the number went up to 3.9 mil-lion at the end of June 2014 comparedto 3.7 million at the end of June 2013.

In H1, 2014, there were 5.4 percentmore subscribers to paid TV broadcast-ing services, reaching 6.6 million, com-pared to 6.3 million at June 30, 2013.

The household penetration rate ofTV services was 89 percent.

Approximately 4.2 million sub-scribers continue to use cable TV, 6 per-cent more than in 2013.

In second place come DTH networkswith 2.37 million subscribers, 4 percentmore than in the previous year. IPTVservices still have not attracted manyclients, having only 65,000 subscribers,42 percent more than in mid-2013.

Most TV subscribers (61 percent) livein urban areas.

As Romania should make the transi-tion to digital terrestrial television start-ing June 17, 2015, as part of theagreement it signed in Geneva in 2006,the state organized a public bid last yearfor the allocation of digital terrestrialTV licenses. The winner was the Na-tional Radiocommunication Company,operating under the brand Radiocom,which won three such licenses for EUR1.02 million. The other contender in thetender was RCS&RDS, which did notwin anything.

Recently, ANCOM published thetask book for a new public tender thatwill take place in 2015, which will see

the allocation of two national digitaltelevision multiplexes that were notwon during the previous procedure, aswell as 40 regional multiplexes and 19local ones.

The slash in termination rates,meant to favor consumers, was a meas-ure that did not go down well with tele-com companies, which complainedthat it came at a time when theyneeded to make massive investmentsin their networks.

Orange Romania ended September30 with a total customer base of 10.5million customers, expanded its 4Gnetwork to over 1,300 localities andover 90 cities, representing 48 percentof the entire population and 78 percentof the urban population, according todata from the operator.

Orange launched 4G in theBucharest subway as well as 4G+ in sixRomanian cities last year.

Orange also made progress in its TVservices offering, reaching 110,000 TVcustomers.

The operator also launched 4G +services in Bucharest, Brasov, Cluj-Napoca, Galati, Iasi and Timisoara.

The Orange group is no longer inter-ested in acquisitions in Romania but isworking on agreements with local fixedplayers to address the need for fixed,mobile offers, Stephane Richard, CEOof the company, told Reuters.

The same cannot be said about itscompetitor, Vodafone, which seems to

be actively seeking new opportunities.According to Reuters, Vodafone is re-viewing potential acquisitions, includ-ing of Europe’s leading cable operatorLiberty Global, which in Romania isrepresented by UPC Romania.

The Liberty Global acquisitionwould enable Vodafone to offer TVservices in Romania on a par with itsmain competitors, Orange Romania,Telekom Romania and RCS&RDS.

Vittorio Colao, CEO of the Britishgroup, said in an interview with ZiarulFinanciar that Vodafone was analyzingthe option of providing fixed voice anddata services to the consumer segmentas well as TV services in Romania,which may include a merger or acquisi-tion.

As of May, Vodafone has had a newCEO, when Ravinder Takkar, 45, previ-ously general director at Vodafone Part-ner Markets since January 2012,replaced Inaki Berroeta.

Vodafone also launched Supernet,which allows higher speeds, networkstability and security in the network forcustomers.

Vodafone had 8,507,439 customersat September 30, 2014.

In July, the firm opened a newShared Services (VSS) Center in Roma-nia following a EUR 6.25 million invest-ment. The center serves Vodafoneoperations in five countries, as well asfor the Vodafone Group.

The most important event in the life

of Telekom Romania was the name it-self, as Romtelecom and Cosmote ac-quired the German identity of mothercompany Deutsche Telekom, followingan investment of nearly EUR 15 million.

The two companies started workingas Telekom Romania, having integratedfixed and mobile shops, a unified callcenter, one single website, and one so-cial media presence.

Even though they work as one, theyare not legally merged, somethingwhich DT aims to do in the future.However, for that to happen, the Ro-manian state, which has a 46 percentstake in Romtelecom, needs to decidein what way the privatization of Romt-elecom must take place. This topicshould be high on the government’sagenda in 2015. The state is already latein making a decision: a possible listingof the Romtelecom shares was an-nounced for 2014, but did not happen.

Still last year, Deutsche Telekommade another move with an impact onthe Romanian market, namely thecompletion of the acquisition of GTSCentral Europe, which has operationsin Romania as well.

Last year marked a repositioning oflocal operator RCS&RDS. The telecomoperator signed a two-year nationalroaming agreement with Vodafone Ro-mania, as part of the obligations stipu-lated in the license acquired byoperators in 2012.

Even though it activated its 900Mhz network, which would allow it toprovide 4G services, RCS&RDS an-nounced it would stick to 3G for 2014,as it offers the optimum speeds for itsconsumers.

At the end of September, RCS&RDSentered the Hungarian telecom marketwith a EUR 32 million bid for a 4G li-cense valid for 20 years, according toReuters.

Last but not least, UPC Romania’sclient portfolio increased from 1.160million in September 2013 to 1.165 mil-lion in September 2014.

The operator launched a Wi-Freeservice and started providing datatransfer speeds of 500 Mbps inBucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara,Constanta, Ploiesti, Iasi, Galati and AlbaIulia. The UPC Fiber Power 200 Mbpsinternet service covers the entire coun-try.

[email protected]

Cosmote and Romtelecom took the German identity Telekom Romania this year


Codes for the future: the Romanian IT market is setting the parameters for a fast development in the region

The Romanian IT market surged by 9.1 percent in 2014 to a total of EUR 1.2 billion, exceeding most countries inthe region, but nevertheless the industry suffered a stain on its reputation due to the outbreak of scandals thatinvolved major international and local names in both the local administration and private sector.

Local IT, between growth and corruption scandals in 2014

∫ OTILIA HARAGA

The 9.1 percent progress of the IT sec-tor was attributed to strong economicgrowth and Romania’s status as a re-gional center for IT professionals, according to Business Monitor Inter-national.

BMI projected that sales of hard-ware components would increase toEUR 656 million in 2014, from EUR633 million the previous year, due tothe re-invigoration of the PC and note-book market, as well as significantgrowth in the number of tablets.

The software market was set toreach EUR 271 million in 2014, com-pared to EUR 249 million the previousyear.

Data from the National Institute ofStatistics (INS) place the number ofemployees in the IT field at 45,500 atJuly 31, having gone up from 41,500 atthe start of the year.

According to data that the INS sentto Business Review, revenues from ITservices represented 2.4 percent ofGDP.

Average net salaries in IT went upsteadily in the last half year, from RON3,739 at the end of January 2014 toRON 3,953 at the end of August, ac-cording to the INS.

In technological innovation, Ro-mania is also making fast progress. Itwas placed third in Deloitte’s CEFast50 ranking for 2014 with six com-panies in the competition: Teamnet,ITNT, Softelligence, Life is Hard,Fortech and Trencadis. Four were newentries. Two of the companies werebased in Bucharest, two in Cluj-Napoca, one in Baia Mare and one inSibiu.

Romanian IT is increasingly organ-izing in clusters, which have started toraise their voice for the industry moreand more this year. Two meetings be-tween IT clusters from Cluj, Iasi,Timisoara, Brasov, and Miercurea-Ciuc took place last fall in Cluj andBrasov, where members discussed in-dustry issues and pitched their re-quests to the authorities.

While Bucharest has been thecountry’s main IT hub, over the pasttwo years four other locations have in-creasingly gained importance in theeyes of IT companies. Timisoara, Cluj,and more recently, Iasi and Brasov areemerging as first points of entry for ITcompanies.

Two international IT&C corpora-tions are getting ready to enter the Ro-manian market, which would lead tothe creation of 4,500 jobs, accordingto a statement by Razvan Cotovelea,minister for the information society,quoted by Agerpres.

“We have one IT giant which willcome to Romania and generate 3,000jobs. We have another great corpora-tion which is coming from across theOcean and will create another 1,500jobs. I can’t give you any further de-tails at the moment. But what I can tellyou is that we will stimulate this sec-tor to give funding to important pro-fessional development projects,” saidCotovelea.

However, a series of corruptionscandals risked besmirching theimage of the local IT industry in 2014.Microsoft, Siveco and Ultra Pro com-puters were the names involved in se-rious corruption and tax evasion cases.

In the Microsoft case, nine local ex-ministers – Ecaterina Andronescu, Va-lerian Vreme, Serban Mihailescu, DanNica, Adriana Ticau, Gabriel Sandu,Daniel Funeriu, Alexandru Athanasiu

and Mihai Tanasescu – faced prosecu-tion following a Microsoft investiga-tion into the lease of its licenses toschools.

The former government officialsare charged with a series of offences,including abuse of office and moneylaundering. The contract under inves-tigation ran between 2004 and 2009.

Former communication ministerGabriel Sandu, businessmen DorinCocos and Nicolae Dumitru and themayor of Piatra Neamt, Gheorghe Ste-fan, were temporarily taken into cus-tody in the Microsoft case.

In July 2014, the DNA started an in-vestigation in rem into influence ped-dling related to corruption, briberyand abuse of office, regarding the li-censes investigations.

The investigation found that out ofthe USD 54 million that was paid bythe government under the licensingcontract and its extensions, commis-sion paid to public officials amountedto USD 20 million.

Another important name on the ITmarket, Siveco, was suspected of cre-ating a criminal network that robbed

the state of an estimated EUR 10 mil-lion by supplying fake IT servicesthrough various companies createdespecially for the purpose.

Irina Socol, president of the com-pany at that time, was taken into cus-tody and later placed under housearrest. In mid September, Siveco an-nounced that Florin Ilia had been appointed president of the adminis-tration board and general manager ofthe company.

The Romanian IT retail scene wasalso shaken by a corruption scandal.The Fughina spouses, CristianFughina’s father, Stefan Fughina, andbusinessman Laszlo Kiss are sus-pected of taking out over EUR 10 mil-lion from the accounts of Ultra ProComputers and transferring themoney into several offshore accounts.The Fughina spouses and Laszlo Kisswere detained by the prosecutors ofthe Directorate for Investigating Or-ganized Crime and Terrorism (DI-ICOT), on money laundering andembezzlement charges.

[email protected]



The total property investment volume in Romania increased to approximately EUR 1 billion in 2014, marking thehighest annual level since 2008, according to pundits. Office has been by far the best performing real estatesector but there is good news coming from retail, logistics and industrial and residential as well.

Real estate market maintainssteady growth in 2014

∫ SIMONA BAZAVAN

Office drives up the real estate marketCompanies active in IT, outsourcingand telecom remained the main play-ers driving up the local office marketin 2014, both in Bucharest and on sev-eral expanding regional markets.Lower costs than in Western and Cen-tral Europe, a versatile labor force andoverall improving economic perform-ances are factors that real estate pun-dits say will continue to fuel thistrend throughout 2015.

Overall, some 195,000 sqm of of-fice space was leased in Bucharest inthe first three quarters of this year,with take-up representing 80 percent,according to data from DTZ Echinox.Relocations within class A & B ac-counted for 47 percent of the totaltake-up – 73,000 sqm – while new de-mand made up 53 percent. Overall,new demand was up by 40 percent inthe first nine months of 2014 y-o-y,according to the same source.

Eight new office buildings weredelivered between Q1 and Q3, whichincreased Bucharest’s office stock by4 percent to a total of 2.12 million sqm.CBRE estimates that 71,000 sqm willbe delivered in Q4 alone, includingprojects such as City Offices, HBCDorobanti, AFI Business Park III,Green Court Bucharest, Ethos Houseand Bratianu OB.

Another 166,000 sqm of officespace is currently under constructionand is estimated to be completed overthe next two years, according to DTZEchinox.

Office has also been the real estatesegment that reported the largestnumber of transactions this year. Inthe last quarter, Globalworth Real Es-tate Investments alone bought two of-fice projects located in northernBucharest – the first building of Skan-ska’s Green Court Bucharest officeproject and the nearby Nusco Tower –for EUR 44 million and EUR 46 mil-lion respectively.

Only two shopping centersdelivered this yearA total of 62,000 sqm of modernshopping space was delivered thisyear in Romania, marking the lowestannual level since 2005, according to

JLL. This came in the form of twoprojects – the Vulcan Value Centre re-tail park in south-west Bucharest andShopping City Targu Jiu – both devel-oped by NEPI.

However, several major projects,the largest of which are ParkLake andMega Mall in Bucharest and CoresiShopping Resort in Brasov, arepresently under construction. Closeto 270,000 sqm are scheduled to bedelivered in 2015 and 2016, out ofwhich over 160,000 sqm are locatedin Bucharest, according to JLL.

The most important transaction onthis segment this year involved NEPI which bought the 35,000 sqmPromenada mall in Bucharest from itsdeveloper Raiffeisen Evolution forEUR 148 million. Raiffeisen Evolutiondelivered the project in October 2013 following a EUR 130 million in-vestment.

Demand for logistics and industrial space on the riseThe manufacturing industry and re-tailers have been driving up demandfor logistics and industrial space thisyear both in Bucharest and outside.Given the pick-up in demand and thelack of new supply, developers are ex-

pected to invest more in such projectsstarting 2015.

Total leasing activity involvingmodern industrial and logistics spacereached 89,000 sqm in the first se-mester of 2014, while take-upamounted to 61,000 sqm, accordingto DTZ Echinox data. OutsideBucharest the take-up was similar toa year ago, but in the capital this in-creased to 34,000 sqm, up from20,000 sqm a year ago, according tothe same source.

In the third quarter the gross take-up had increased to approximately98,000, almost three and a half timesup on to the same period of last year,according to JLL data. Close to 60 per-cent of this was net take-up, with therest relocations, renegotiations andrenewals. The increase was triggeredby higher retailer sales and a goodevolution of the agribusiness sector,according to the same source.

The most important transactioninvolving logistics space this year was closed by Austria’s CA Immo,which sold 215,000 sqm of warehousespace and 40 ha of land for develop-ment close to the A1 highway inBucharest to Czech PointPark Proper-ties (P3).

Residential resumes growthDevelopers have been talking about

the residential market picking upsince the beginning of the year. Datafrom the first three quarters confirmsthis, at least partially. Some 28,500new housing units were delivered inthe first nine months of this year, upby close to 2,000 units against thesame period of the previous year, ac-cording to the National Institute ofStatistics. Approximately 51 percentof the new dwellings are located inurban areas.

Some of the new residential proj-ects announced this year include aEUR 37 million investment made byLithuanian real estate developer Han-ner into a three-block residential proj-ect near Tineretului Park in Bucharestand a EUR 14 million expansion of theGreenfield housing project in north-ern Bucharest. The high-end residen-tial market has also seen increasedinterest from developers.

Despite such news, average houseprices are expected to have fallenagain in 2014, albeit minimally, andbanks remain reluctant to finance res-idential projects.

[email protected]

Shopping spree: Globalworth Real Estate Investments bought two office projects in northern Bucharest for EUR 90 mln in Q4


A focus on smaller retail formats, online expansion and an overall slowdown in store openings were some of the main developments on the local FMCG retail market in 2014. Fashion and footwear retailers saw their expansion hindered by the lack of new shopping malls being opened while the DIY market underwent somedrastic changes.

Retail slows down expansion

∫ SIMONA BAZAVAN

Grocery retailers bet onsmall formatsFMCG retail players opened a total of70 new units in the first half of 2014,according to data from DTZ Echinox.Kaufland was the only hypermarketoperator who continued to invest innew store openings while the otherplayers focused on smaller-sized for-mats. Mega Image was the absoluteleader on this segment, havingopened a total of some 58 Shop&Goproximity stores by early December.While the retailer expanded mostly inBucharest, other players targetedsmaller local towns as well.

This year has also seen existingplayers investing in bringing new re-tail formats to Romania. In September,French Carrefour opened its first localSupeco store and a second one was in-augurated the following month. The Supeco concept is a mix betweena discounter and a cash&carry store and so far Carrefour has beenpresent with this retail format only inSpain. Auchan, another major hypermarket operator, said in Julythat it was considering adding a newhypermarket format to its local pres-ence. This would be a compact hyper-market selling fewer products thanthe regular Auchan hypermarketwhich would make it better suited tosmall towns. The concept has alreadybeen launched in Russia and Chinawhere it is proving very successful,according to company representa-tives.

By early December Carrefour was operating 167 stores in Romania,out of which only 27 were hypermar-kets. In 2013 it became the first large FMCG retailer to launch an online store and the next year more retailers followed suit. AfterCora launched a local drive-throughservice in 2013, this November it also made available a home deliveryservice for goods ordered from its on-line platform coradrive.com. In thefirst year of activity the retailer’s on-line sales amounted to over EUR 450,000. Earlier in 2014, onlineretailer eMag and supermarket oper-ator Mega Image also announced that they had reached an agreementto launch an online store selling grocery products.

A crowded marketThe Vulcan Value Centre retail park

and Shopping City Targu Jiu – both de-veloped by real estate investment fundNew Europe Property Investments(NEPI) – were the only two modernshopping centers to be delivered thisyear in Romania. Retailers such as Car-refour, H&M, Takko and Deichmannare tenants in both projects.

The two projects’ combined sur-face of about 62,000 sqm marks thelowest annual level reported since2005, according to JLL data.

While several big projects arepresently under construction and ap-proximately 270,000 sqm is expectedto be delivered in the country in 2015and 2016, retailers had a hard timefinding space for additional stores innew locations this year. This meantmany had to look at existing shoppingcenters.

As a result, the vacancy rate ofprime shopping centers in Romaniahas been on a downward trend inBucharest and other cities in thecountry, dropping to below 5 percentin the first half of the year, accordingto DTZ Echinox data.

Maxi Toys is one of the few new re-tailers to have entered the local mar-ket this year. Spanish sportswearretailer Decimas also announced itwould open its first store in Romaniain Coresi Shopping Resort Brasov nextyear.

Power shifts on the DIY marketAfter a turbulent 2013, the local DIYretail market underwent morechanges in 2014.

Local businessman Omer Susli of-ficially took over the 27 local stores ofinsolvent Praktiker AG in Februaryand by the end of December one morenew location will be opened. GermanPraktiker had seen five consecutiveyears of falling sales in Romania butthe new owner was confident thatlosses could be recovered by the endof 2014.

Praktiker was not the only interna-tional player to succumb to fallingsales. Following poor results, OBIclosed all seven of its local stores thisSeptember and some of the locations

were taken over by Greek toy retailerJumbo. OBI, which is part of Germanretailer Tengelmann, opened its firstlocal shop in 2008 and expandeduntil 2010.

While OBI did not manage to sell its entire network, Austrian DIYretailer bauMax announced in Julythat all of its 15 stores in Romaniawould be taken over by French DIYgroup Adeo which owns several DIYretail brands, and is already presentlocally with a Leroy Merlin store inBucharest.

While international players strug-gled in 2014, local Dedeman, which isowned by Romanian businessmenDragos and Adrian Paval, has consol-idated its position as the leader of theRomanian DIY market. Unlike its in-ternational competitors, the companyhas managed to maintain a steady ex-pansion rhythm over recent years,reaching a network of 39 outlets at theend of November. Three of the storeswere opened this year.

[email protected]

Retail detail: Players focused on opening smaller-sized formats in 2014

18 INTERVIEWwww.business-review.eu


Orange Romania will keep the samelevel of investments next year

∫ OTILIA HARAGA

What is Orange’s position on access to

fixed networks?

Indeed, we would be interested in ac-cess to a fixed broadband local loop forconsumers. Why I am saying for con-sumers? Because for businesses we al-ready have such offerings in the mainRomanian cities.

When we bought the licenses in Sep-tember 2012, we, the mobile operators,all had the obligation to provide na-tional roaming to other operators. Thishas already happened as one of thefixed operators has signed a deal withone of us on national roaming.

Now, what we’re clearly asking fromANCOM is to regulate the fixed marketas well. There is a player that has morethan a 50 percent market share, whichdefinitely makes that company a domi-nant player. That player is RCS&RDS.We are just asking for some balance inregulation so we can get access to afixed broadband local loop. By the way,this would also be interesting to such anoperator, because it could generate ad-ditional services and additional cus-tomers using its infrastructure;therefore it would be a win-win for bothparties.

At the moment, discussions with theauthorities are at the point where thereis the intention to do it. We expect thatbehind the intention, they will reallystart to analyze this market.

Romania is the only major market inEurope that is not yet regulated on thewholesale side. I think only Malta is notregulated at the moment. Most of thelarge markets are. For instance, there isa very interesting regulation that startedin Belgium, where the dominant cableoperator was obliged by law to open upthe TV signal to third parties.

Are there any other regulatory measures

that will be important for the market?

As you know, there is a very importanttopic in Romania which still needs to beaddressed: the prepay registration law.At Orange, our position has been veryclear from the start. We have alwayssaid that we will support this law, if theRomanian authorities are going to pushoperators to register all prepay cus-tomers. On the other hand, we hope wewill be consulted on this because weneed time to make it happen.

In Romania, there are about 12 mil-lion prepay cards (all operators to-gether), so you can imagine that

registering 12 million customers willtake time. I really hope the authoritieswill be diligent like they were in the pastand agree to get us around the table andmake such a law that will make it feasi-ble for us to register these customers.

There was talk of registering cus-tomers using only digital and onlinemeans. We discussed for a long timeavoiding having paper forms stampedand signed, which of course you canimagine is much more cumbersome ifwe must register millions of people.This is a very important topic for the en-tire sector. The law was rejected at theend of the summer and with the presi-dential elections, I think that people’sminds were elsewhere, so I guess thediscussions will restart at the beginningof next year.

I believe that we will need a year ortwo to register all the customers.

There are many countries that havealready enforced this law, France beingone of them.

What are Orange’s plans for next year?

4G and 4G + are of course our main pri-orities, but in the course of next year wewill also go for VoLTE. There is no ur-gency, because as we speak there arevery few smartphones supporting thisnew standard, but it is going to be animportant move that we are going to donext year.

In parallel with 4G deployment, wewill also be refreshing all the equipmentin towns and cities. We have alreadydone so in rural areas, and we are doing

that in urban areas as well. If the environment in Romania re-

mains the same as it has been lately,without major macro-economic issues,we will keep the same pace and thesame level of investments.

When the telecom licenses were allo-

cated, no new player entered the market.

Do you think this is still possible?

There was no new entrant, but therewas a relaunch of RCS&RDS in April thisyear when it got the opportunity to useits new frequencies. So, in a way, we cansay that there has been a new entrant.

In theory, I understand that there isstill some spectrum that will becomeavailable on 4G but it is the role of thegovernment and ANCOM to decidewhat to do with this additional spec-trum.

What we have just observed is that acountry like the US has only four opera-tors, while in Europe, there are morethan 140 operators. So, a common beliefof the telecom sector is that there willbe consolidation in many forms,whether they are partnerships or agree-ments.

Why is that? Well, you’ve seen whathappened in the past. Take Romania forinstance: the crisis put a lot of pressureon our margins; there was very toughcompetition which is still going on.

And let us not forget the decrease intermination rates. We’re still feeling theeffect of this because if we compareourselves versus last year, we were stillenjoying termination rates of 3cents/minute then, while now they areone cent less. So, if we compare our-selves to last year, we’ve had a drasticloss.

How do you think the convergent bundles

will reshape the market?

If you look at the market and the waypeople are consuming, you will see thata lot of them are still buying mobileservices from one place, fixed servicesfrom another and TV from another. Soa lot of customers today still have twoor three providers.

We believe this is one direction thatthe market could go in, but it will take alot of time simply because Romania is avast country with 19 million inhabitants.We are not overestimating Romanians’appetite for these completely combinedservices but we think it is definitely a fu-ture direction on the market.

How have Orange’s online sales fared?

We have two developments there. Our

online presence at www.orange.ro, aswell as a mobile site which will enablecustomers to shop online from theirsmartphone or tablet. We are also en-riching our existing Orange.ro site, socustomers can find more informationon the products. Right now, the onlineis quite important for high-value cus-tomers, but it is not yet a mass-marketchannel. However, we are sure it isgoing to become one.

What are your plans for multimedia con-

tent?

Our strategy is not going to change, be-cause we want to be consistent.

On one side, we are providing DTH service with linear content. We arethe only provider offering 40 HD chan-nels. In September we closed a deal en-abling us to distribute the Soccer FirstLeague here in Romania, which puts usahead of the competition. The samemonth we passed the 110,000 TV sub-scriber mark. On the other side, we havean OTT (over-the-top) strategy. Whenyou buy Orange TV you get access to Or-ange TV Go. We have had 800,000downloads of this app on both Androidand iOS.

We have a place in this app whereyou can watch movies. We have a cata-logue of more than 600 films and we areenriching it. Very recently we addedDisney movies. We have also managedto close a deal with an American com-pany called Hot from the US, which pro-vides fresh series. Payment is per film.

When we launched we were toldthat this was not a service for the Ro-manian market but we believe it willcatch up.

We have also partnered with DailyMotion, the European YouTube, withwhich we are building this platform. Wedo not plan to enter content production.We want, however, to be the best aggre-gator of content.

Any new developments on NFC?

We had a pilot-project in partnershipwith BRD and it showed that the serviceworks. Now the challenge for us is togather more partners around the tablebecause the service needs to be usedwidely, which is not yet the case. I amsure that if I go to Carrefour Baneasa,which was equipped, and I try to paywith NFC on my phone, the cashier willask me what NFC is. People also need tobe trained in the supermarket. Thesnowball needs to be pushed.

[email protected]

Mobile operators’ access to fixed networks and the law regarding the registration of prepay card users will betwo of the issues on the agenda of telecom players next year, Jean-Francois Fallacher, CEO of Orange Romania,tells BR. Some of the company’s plans for 2015 include 4G deployment and the introduction of VoLTE.

DEALS OF THE YEAR 19www.business-review.euBusiness Review | December, 2014

Romanian M&A market recovers after economic crisis

∫ ANDA SEBESI

In the past two years the RomanianM&A market has continued to growslowly and significant deals like the exitof Enel and the sale of Lafarge’s opera-tions are now on the horizon. But due totheir complexity, specialists expectsthey will be completed next year. “Inthe beginning of 2014, most M&A pro-fessionals expressed cautious optimismabout the market. As a firm, throughoutthe year we have witnessed the reacti-vation of major projects that had beenstalling for various reasons. Lookingback, I would say that the market ispicking up speed. While we see somedeals being closed, there are many moreongoing negotiations. And, much moreimportantly, several cross-border dealswith a huge impact on both the regionaland local markets,” says Nadia Badea,partner at Clifford Chance Badea. Sheadds that deals are being discussedmore thoroughly, as investors are ex-tremely cautious and place major focuson due diligence. Interest and expecta-tions remain high, since recordamounts of cash available in the marketpush investors to constantly look forbusiness opportunities.

Specialists say that the RomanianM&A market is showing signs of recov-ery, due to a combination of factors in-cluding Romania’s general economicgrowth – even though the growthrhythm is still rather low – the regionaleconomic context, as well as the righttiming for consolidation in several sec-tors and industries. Plus, two largetransactions – the sale of some of the La-farge-Holcim assets in Romania, as partof the merger between the two large ce-ment producers, as well as the sale ofthe Enel assets in Romania – are ex-pected to stimulate the local M&A mar-ket. “These deals have attracted theinterest of several major strategic and fi-nancial investors for Romania, whichwanted large scale transactions that theRomanian market could not offer so far,”says Anda Rojanschi, partner at D&BDavid and Baias. As for the types oftransactions, currently the Romanianmarket is still dominated by small tomedium deals, with slightly increasingvalues. “However, we expect somemajor ones to be announced sometimein the first half of 2015. Therefore, Iwould expect the overall volume of the2014 M&A market to remain close to theprevious year, around the EUR 1 billionmark,” adds Badea.

The stars are….Energy, banking, retail, industry, logis-tics and agriculture were some of themost dynamic sectors in 2014 from theperspective of completed deals. “If weinclude the Electrica IPO we can saythat the energy sector was the most ac-tive. Also we can see a realignment ofthe banking sector because of the acqui-sition of banks and of underperformingloan portfolios,” says Mihai Zoescu, di-rector advisory at KPMG Romania.

“There are also other sectors where sig-nificant transactions have been com-pleted, like retail, industry, logistics andagriculture. But it is difficult to say ifthere was a polarization in a specificfield of activity.”

Alexandru Medelean, M&A directorat PwC Romania, says that in 2014 thebanking sector has been the star of theM&A market, with many large transac-tions being completed.

The most recent news in the bankingsystem is that in mid-December BancaTransilvania announced that it had re-

cently signed a binding agreement toacquire 100 percent of the shareholdingof Volksbank Romania SA (VBRO) fromÖsterreichische Volksbanken AG,Groupe BPCE, DZ Bank AG and WGZBank AG. This is in line with BT’s strat-egy to add value for its shareholders bymaking opportunistic acquisitions ofRomanian banks or single loan portfo-lios.

BT and VBRO will operate as sepa-rate entities over the coming months,pending the successful closure of thetransaction, which is still subject to alimited set of conditions including an-titrust, merger clearance and CentralBank BNR approval. Upon the success-ful completion of the transaction, BT isplanning to fully integrate the businessof VBRO into BT’s existing structure.

“The acquisition of Volksbank Roma-nia is part of our bank’s growth and con-solidation strategy, reaffirming ourcommitment as an active market playerand supporter of the Romanian econ-omy. After the integration, considering

the market shares of the two banks, BTaims to become the second largest bankin Romania. Banca Transilvania is wellcapitalized, enjoys high liquidity, an in-creasing market share and positive fi-nancial results,” stated Horia Ciorcila,chairman of the board of directors ofBanca Transilvania.

OTP Bank – Millennium Bank, forwhich PwC was lead advisor for theseller Banco Comercial Portugues; thesale of RBS Romania’s corporate bank-ing franchise to Unicredit, in which PwCalso advised the seller; Nexte Bank –Banca Carpatica; Banca Transilvania –Volksbank and Unicredit – RBS were themain transactions of the year in the fi-nancial sector. “In addition to the trans-actions that involved banks, we havealso witnessed deals with large portfo-lios of non-performing loans sold byVolksbank (EUR 500 million worth ofNLP) and BCR (EUR 350 million). PwCwas advisor for both these transactions,”says Medelean. “For 2015 we expect tosee further consolidation on the Ro-manian banking sector, as well as fur-ther opportunities for local banks todeleverage by selling non-core assets,including non-performing loans,” pre-dicts Jonathan Wheatley, director, deals,PwC Romania.

Another active sector in 2014 wasagriculture. The acquisition byTransavia of the business of Food 2000,an insolvent company for which PwCwas advisor for the buyer, is one suchexample. “Agriculture and the food in-dustry are sectors that were generallyactive in terms of M&A activity in recentyears and we expect that this trend willcontinue, as most of the markets in thissector are still widely fragmented,” saysRojanschi.

In addition to the consolidationtrend in the financial sector, there wasa boost of strategic investments in realestate. Other fields like technology,media and telecommunications re-mained a focus, in view of their hugepotential in today's economy. “Our cur-rent pipeline also includes deals in theoil & gas industry, the financial sector,consumer business, pharmacy andhealthcare,” says Badea of CliffordChance Badea.

Rojanschi of D&B David and Baiasemphasizes a trend on the real estatemarket where some major players suchas investment fund NEPI are currentlyconsolidating their portfolios of proper-ties, mostly in Bucharest, but also insome other large cities like Timisoaraand Cluj, leading to an increase in real-

In the past two years, the Romanian M&A market has shown signs of recovery despite being still dominated bysmall to medium deals, with slightly increasing values. But the future sounds good for the sector, say specialists.They expect the market to grow both in 2015 and 2016, while some sectors will face a significant consolidation.

Nadia Badea, partner at CliffordChance Badea

Alexandru Medelean, M&A director atPwC Romania

Anda Rojanschi, partner at D&BDavid and Baias

Mihai Zoescu, director advisory atKPMG Romania

20 DEALS OF THE YEARwww.business-review.eu


estate deals. Elsewhere, Rojanschi expects sec-

tors like IT&Telecom, media, energyand healthcare to lead the way in termsof M&A activity in 2015. “There is talk inthe market about a possible consolida-tion of the private healthcare sector.Also, the IT services market is goingthrough re-arranging, which could leadto more transactions in this field,” saysRojanschi. “Although we don’t expectthe value of the deals to increase in allsectors, we believe that the number ofM&A deals will increase next year.”

… and the future looks brightZoescu of KPMG says that there is roomfor moderate optimism about the evo-lution of the local M&A market. “A sig-nificant factor in boosting the M&Amarket is the increased trust of foreigninvestors in the evolution of the Ro-manian economy,” says the KPMG rep-resentative. “We expect intensified

activity over the following months, withsome major deals and cross-bordertransactions reaching a successful end.Regained confidence in the strengthand stability of the local economy couldprove a major boost for the M&A activ-ity in Romania. Taxation, in terms ofpredictability, could also be a driver,”says Badea of Clifford Chance Badea.But the global context also matters, asthe entire business community is facingmajor question marks: the Europeaneconomy and its perspectives, the un-certainty and implications of sanctionsimposed on Russia, the related geopo-litical context, shifting trade and capitalflows in the global economy, the tech-nological revolution, and intensifiedscrutiny and intervention from nationalregulators.

Rojanschi expects the M&A marketto increase in Romania in 2015 and 2016,taking into consideration the country’sfavorable position in the regional con-

text, as opposed to the political and eco-nomic situation in countries likeUkraine, Hungary and Bulgaria. “Thisgrowing M&A activity in Romania wasalready seen in 2014, when the overallM&A value in Romania was the thirdlargest in CEE, after those of Poland andthe Czech Republic,” she says.

The Romanian M&A market is recov-ering after the economic downturn,agree pundits. “We think that the levelsregistered prior to the crisis can bereached and exceeded on the mediumterm but it is difficult to estimate a pe-riod of time,” adds Zoescu. Withoutdoubt, the market was more dynamic in

the years prior to the global financial cri-sis. Investors' interest was high andsome deals reached impressive values.In a seller’s market, the negotiationsprocess mostly focused on price.

“Today it's a buyer’s market: we’re seeingfewer and smaller deals, often closedafter a lengthy negotiation process. In-vestors are no longer willing to pay theEBITDA multiples they use to pay in theboom period. They are much more cau-tious, more demanding and inquisitive,and make strategic decisions when de-ciding on a deal,” concludes Badea.

[email protected]

In 2014, D&B David and Baias was involved in the following deals: l Antenna Group BV (buyer) - Kiss FM Music SRL/P7S1 Radio Holding SRL

(targets) - D&B assisted Antenna Group with the acquisition of part of theRomanian television and all radio channels owned by ProSieben group.The company assisted the client with a legal due diligence on the targetcompanies and transaction support services.

l Altex Romania (seller) - two commercial centers owned by Altex RomaniaSRL: one in Alba Iulia Retail Park and the second in Aurora Shopping Mall)- Nepi Ten Development Solutions SRL (buyer) - D&B assisted the AltexRomania with the sale of two commercial centers located in Alba Iulia andBuzau counties. The value of the transaction was EUR 10 million.

l Mega Image/Delhaize Group (buyer) - 20 stores owned by Angst Retail SRL- D&B assisted Mega Image with the acquisition of 20 stores from Angstnetwork

l BPI A/S (buyer) - ten Romanian companies from Macromex Group (targets)- D&B provided buy-side legal assistance to the Danish company BPI A/S,a large meat trader, during the acquisition of ten Romanian companies.

l Riofisa Internacional SL (seller) - Credanti Holdings LTD (buyer) - D&B as-sisted Riofisa in selling its participaion in two real estate projects in Roma-nia to Tiriac group.

In 2014, PwC Romania was involved in the following deals in the banking sector: l Millenium Bank Romania – OTP Bank. Banco Comercial Portugues sold its

Romanian branch – Millenium Bank Romania to OTP Bank. PwC PwC waslead advisor for the seller.

l RBS – Unicredit. RBS Romania sold to Unicredit its Romanian corporatebanking franchise. PwC was lead advisor for the seller.

l Volksbank Romania – consortium of private equity investors. Volksbank Ro-mania sold a portfolio of 500 million Euro worth of non-performing loans to aconsortium of private equity investors. PwC was lead advisor for the seller.

l BCR – consortium of private equity investors. BCR sold a portfolio of 350 mil-lion Euro worth of non-performing loans to a consortium of private equity in-vestors. PwC was lead advisor for the seller.

DEALS OF THE YEAR 21www.business-review.euBusiness Review | December, 2014

Romanian M&A market sees increased activity in 2014, stilllagging behind other countries in the region on private equity

Horea Popescu, the head of

M&A at CMS Romania, talks

about the past year and what

the future holds for M&A in

Romania

What can you tell us about the

cross-border transactions that

took place in 2014?

We have seen an uptick in deal vol-ume on the Romanian M&A mar-ket in general and a great deal ofthis is of a cross-border nature, asforeign companies expand theirbusiness activity in Romania ormake their first acquisitions here– and of course then there are theinternational players who are re-structuring their global portfoliosand divesting in some or all of theirassets or business lines in Roma-nia. We continue to see an in-crease in strategic investmentfrom foreign investors too. Therehas been a recent wave of foreigninvestors interested in the agricul-tural sector in Romania and thiswill certainly continue in 2015.There is significant growth poten-tial for Romanian agri-businessand heavy investment is needed inthis area. Projects are encour-aged by both EU and Romaniangovernment subsidies available tosupport investments in the sector.We have seen increased interestfrom Chinese companies in par-ticular and this looks set to con-tinue for the coming year(s). Thefact that the Chinese governmenthas opened a $10bn special creditline for joint investment projectsin East European infrastructureand technology projects is furthertestament to China’s serious in-terest in promoting economic co-operation with the region.

How has the Romanian M&A mar-

ket looked in the last year?

Which were the most active sec-

tors?

The last year has seen an increasein M&A activity on the Romanianmarket, driven largely by deals inthe Financial Institutions and Serv-ices, Technology and Communi-cations, Energy, Manufacturing,and Agriculture sectors. In par-ticular the financial sector hasseen high levels of transaction ac-tivity in the last year, with somemajor deals in the banking (includ-ing both sales of banks and thetransfer of loan portfolios), insur-ance and leasing sub-sectors.There has been a shift in activityin the energy sector. The meas-

ures implemented by the RomanianGovernment in recent years which havechanged (and effectively cancelled) aregime intended to attract investmentin the renewable energy sector, havenegatively impacted the investments ofnumerous investors in renewable en-ergy in Romania. However, transactionactivity continues, mainly in oil & gasexploration and non-renewable elec-tricity projects. 2014 also saw the firstlisting of a number of Romania-basedrenewable energy projects on theCanadian stock exchange market. Wehave seen a number of large-scaletransactions – often part of majorglobal asset sales – in the manufac-turing sector, with large industrialgroups selling their Romanian produc-tion facilities. We envisage this trendcontinuing into next year, with severallarge industrial asset sales in thepipeline. There has also been a slightuptick of deal activity in the real estatesector.

What are the main trends you have

seen in the last year?

Generally speaking, we are seeing alarger volume of smaller value trans-actions on the market. That being said,

“big ticket” deals are currently beingconsidered by some serious investors,who are carefully planning ahead forthe coming year(s). The deal landscapein Romania was driven less than wasexpected by privatisation in 2014. Lev-els of private equity investment re-mained low due to the lack of debt fi-nancing – although we have seen aslight increase in activity comparedwith last year. Once again the deallandscape in 2014 was shaped to alarge extent by restructuring deals, asbusinesses adapted to new economicpressures and focused on driving rev-enues. Restructuring and reorganisa-

tion will continue to be a priority formany companies in 2015.

How do you think the local M&A mar-

ket will evolve in the years to come?

We believe that 2015 will again bring asteady flow of deals and are optimisticabout continued growth in the M&Amarket – and have already seen it pick-ing up some considerable momentumin 2014, with some “big ticket” deals inthe pipeline, such as the widely re-ported potential divestment of Enelhere. Broadly speaking, significant im-provements to transport infrastructurein Romania in the coming year(s),alongside the more efficient absorptionof EU funds, should prove to encourageinvestment into Romania and move themarket forward. The most attractivesectors for acquisitions in 2015 will likely be Energy and Natural Re-sources, Technology and Communica-tions, Infrastructure and Agriculture,all attracting strategic investment. Inparticular the Technology and Commu-nications sector shows a great deal ofpotential.

What can Romania learn from the ex-

perience of other countries?

It seems that macroeconomic pieceshave fallen into place, encouraging Eu-ropean M&A. Anticipation of strong do-mestic demand and export growth willlikely anchor recovery in key economiessuch as Germany and the UK. As globalconfidence in Europe’s recovery in-creases, Romania has the potential tobecome an attractive investment des-tination for global M&A. To maximisethis potential, it is imperative for Ro-mania to have effective and transparentlegal systems in place.

How do you see the future of private

equity in Romania?

While Romania is still in a moderategrowth phase compared to other partsof Europe, it has the potential to become again an interesting market for private equity investors in themedium/long term. While there areopportunities across the board, thehigh opportunity sectors in Romaniawill likely be agriculture, technology,energy and financial services. In termsof the most competitive deal size, itseems that the “sweet spots” for in-vestors, whether new or seasoned, arebetween EUR10-30 million and EUR30-50 million, depending on the fund, al-though there are larger deals (EUR50million +) out there which may be alsobe of interest. We see potential for sig-nificant increased growth in the yearsahead and believe that Romania couldbecome an attractive deal location in

the not so distant future.

Is there a gap between the

Romanian private equity market

and that in other countries?

Yes – Romania is lagging behindcompared with other countries inthe region where private equityfunds tend to be based. i.e. inCEE’s more mature markets,such as Poland and the Czech Re-public. Funds are still hesitantabout coming back to Romania in full force after the economic crisis of recent years, hence theslight disconnect in activity levelsbetween Romania and centralCEE countries. CEE as a wholeremains attractive given the diversification benefits in thesecountries. Funds are attracted by the competitive advantage that can be gained by having their portfolio companies sellproducts and services into West-ern Europe, while utilising thelower cost base that exists in cer-tain CEE jurisdictions, includingRomania.

You have recently published

the 2014 CMS European

M&A Study. What were its main

conclusions?

Notable findings from the lateststudy are the decline in the useof purchase price adjustments;earn-out periods are becominglonger; buyers are generally re-quiring less security for warrantyclaims than they did in 2012; andwarranty periods are generallybecoming shorter. These key con-clusions may vary in the individualM&A markets, despite the gen-eral European trend. In the CEEregion, we saw: locked box usageincreased, compared to last 5years; earn-out usage decreasedcompared to 2012; deals in CEEmost likely in Europe to have MACclause (28%); usage of escrow ac-counts decreased in CEE, com-pared to last 5 years; de minimisand basket clauses widely usedin CEE; requirement of cartelclearance as a closing conditionincreased; reduction of deals conditional on buyer finance; and arbitration continues to bethe preferred dispute resolutionforum.

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AGRICULTUREAgri.Capital Luxembourg S.a.r.l.buys 100 percent of shares intwo Romanian cereal producersValue of transaction: N/ALegal team buyer: Wolf TheissLegal team seller: Carsten Lau Kjærgard(individual Danish lawyer)Description: Agri.Capital LuxembourgS.a.r.l. acquired 100 percent of the sharesin two Romanian companies performingmainly production of cereals by way ofworking leased land in Timis county.Wolf Theiss has also assisted the clientin a due diligence process that involvedthe selection of the main areas of interestand of criteria for random review of cer-tain categories of documents. Addition-ally, its assistance was required in a fi-nancing project that consisted in the fi-nancing granted by the buyer to theseller for initiating the internal cleaningprocess prior to completion.

COFCO acquires NideraValue of transaction: USD 2 billionLegal team COFCO: Clifford ChanceDescription: COFCO, a Fortune 500 company and the largest grain, oil andfoodstuff company in China, acquireda 51 percent stake in Nidera, a globalcommodity trader and agribusiness com-pany that has international operationsin 18 major export and import countriesand distributes its products to morethan 60 countries in the world. Thetransaction was completed in March2014.

AUTOMOTIVEHendrickson buys subsidiariesof Frauenthal GroupValue of transaction: EUR 25 millionLegal team buyer: Wolf TheissLegal team seller: N/ADescription: Hendrickson acquired thesubsidiaries of Frauenthal Group. TheUS automotive supplier Hendricksonhas been interested in certain subsidariesof the Austrian Frauenthal Group, astocklisted conglomerate headquarteredin Vienna, for some time already. Thetargets of the acquisition were Frauen-thal subsidaries from the automotivecomponents suppliers sector in Juden-burg (Austria), Chatenois and Douai(both in France) and Sibiu (Romania).The components produced by thesemembers of the Frauenthal AutomotiveGroup are delivered to numerous leadersin the European utility vehicle industry.

Automobile Craiova privatizedValue of transaction: N/ALegal team buyer: NNDKPLegal team seller: Tuca Zbarcea & Aso-ciatii.Description: In July this year, the Ro-manian Privatisation Agency (AAAS) an-nounced in a press release that it hassigned the final documents relating tothe privatisation agreement for the for-mer Automobile Craiova with its currentowner, Ford Romania.

CHEMICAL INDUSTRYDynea Chemicals Oy/Dynea International Oy sells Dynea Resins Romania to capiton AG.Value of transaction: N/ALegal team buyer: ZamfirescuRacoti&Partners Attorneys at Law (onRomanian law matters) and BMHBrautigam &PartnerLegal team seller: Millington AdvisoryParnersDescription: Acquiring the shares issuedby Dynea PRC Group (including PRC UKLtd.) and its subsidiaries, including theshares of Dynea Resins Romania SRL.The German investment fund took overDynea Resins Romania SRL, a privatecompany specialized in the productionof adhesives, in the project contemplat-ing the takeover of the European divisionof a global leader in the chemical industry.The transaction included a complex sys-tem of legal operations: cross bordershares acquisition; granting corporateguarantees; restructuring the packageof loan facilities.

CONSTRUCTIONMATERIALSAdvent International sells Ceramica SA to ADM CapitalValue of transaction: N/ALegal team buyer: CMSLegal team seller: Allen&Overy LLPDescription: International investmentgroup with a particular focus on emerg-ing markets, in particular CEE, ADMCapital’s purchase of a 100 percent stakein EuroBrick International B.V. from Ad-vent International, one of the largestglobal private equity firms. Dutch entityEuroBrick International B.V. is the largestshareholder in Bucharest-listed CeramicaS.A, one of Romania’s leading ceramicand clay brick producers. Ceramica hasconsolidated its market position and isnow a key player in the constructionmaterials market in Romania having in-creased its market share from 6 per centin 2008 to 20 per cent in 2014 and ex-panding in to neighbouring markets inUkraine and Moldova.

CONSUMERGOODSMerger of global coffee business of Mondelez International Inc. and D.E. Master Blenders 1753 B.V.Value of transaction: USD 5 billionLegal team Mondelez: Clifford ChanceDescription: Mondelez International andD.E Master Blenders 1753 B.V. combinetheir respective coffee businesses to cre-ate Jacobs Douwe Egberts coffee com-

pany. The two companies own some ofthe world's leading coffee brands, suchas Jacobs, Carte Noire, Gevalia, Kenco,Tassimo and Millicano from MondelezInternational and Douwe Egberts, L'OR,Pilao and Senseo from D.E MasterBlenders 1753. The deal was completedin May 2014.

Innova Capital buys Blue CoffeeServiceValue of transaction: N/ALegal team buyer: Popovici Nitu & Aso-ciatiiLegal team seller: Eversheds Lina&GuiaDescription: La Fantana, a player specialized in bottled water using thewatercooler system entered this yearon the coffee automakers local market, targeting companies and the HoReCa segment. This was possiblethrough the acquisition of the local dis-tributor of Lavazza products, Blue Coffee Service, from Aqula group. InnovaCapital owns 75.5 percent of La Fantana.Throughout this acquisition, La Fantanatakes over 9,500 coffee automakers, inaddition to its 110,000 watercoolers. The acquisition is part of the generalstrategy of La Fantana that aims to consolidate its presence on the marketbased on an extended portfolio of prod-ucts and services.

DELIVERYAbris Capital Partner and Cargus acquires Urgent CurierValue of transaction: N/ALegal team buyer: Clifford Chance Badea.Legal team seller: N/A.Description: Abris Capital Partners and its portfolio company Cargus acquired Urgent Curier, one of the top three internal courier companies.Urgent Curier will further merge withcourier company Cargus resulting in a business with a fleet of over 1,800 vehicles, 1,800 couriers and a logistics network of over 142 deposits.The deal was completed in June 2014.

ENERGYSun Value Gmbh acquires 100 percent of two project companiesValue of transaction: N/ALegal team buyer: Wolf TheissLegal team seller: N/ADescription: Sun Value Gmbh (a playerin the energy/photovoltaic industry)was involved in a share purchase agreement whereby two project companies were 100 percent acquiredby it. The transaction was challengingdue to the multitude of regulatory matters to be handled prior to comple-tion, including the split of a real estateasset. Moreover, the financials of thetransaction raised some challenges such

as highly transaction-specific price ad-justment mechanism and escrow agree-ment.

Sterling Resources Ltd sells itsinterest in Block 15 MidiaValue of transaction: Between USD29,500,000 – USD 78,500,000Other firms advising on the matter andtheir role: Burness Paull & WilliamsonsLLP – legal advice for Sterling in UK;NNDKP – for ExxonMobil Explorationand Producation Romania şi OMVPetrom SALegal team seller: Musat & AsociatiiDescription: Sterling Resources Ltd, aworld-wide company engaged in the exploration, development and pro-duction of crude oil and natural gas inselected areas of the world, signed asale-purchase agreement with Exxon-Mobil Exploration, Production RomaniaLimited and OMV Petrom SA for thesale of its 65 percent interest in the deepwater area of Block 15 Midia in the Ro-manian Black Sea.

Socar acquires remaining stakein Socar Petroleum SA.Value of transaction: N/ALegal team buyer: Tuca Zbarcea & Aso-ciatiiLegal team seller: Jinga Maravela & Aso-ciatiiDescription: Azerbaijani national oil andgas company SOCAR acquired the re-maining 10 percent stake it did not al-ready control in its Romanian divisionSocar Petroleum SA for an undisclosedamount, Agerpres reported. SOCAR an-nounced it will also contribute to EUR35 million to Socar Petroleum's capitalincrease following the completion ofthe transaction.

China Nuclear Power Corporation to invest EUR 6.45 billion in CernavodaPower PlantValue of transaction: EUR 6.45 billion(according to a feasibility study doneby EY that showed the needed invest-ment)Legal team buyer: Tuca Zbarcea & Aso-ciatiiLegal team seller: a consortium of lawfirmsDescription: China Nuclear Power Corporation placed this year, on September 23, a binding bid for the construction of two reactors (Units1 and 2) at the Romanian nuclear power plant in Cernavoda, deputy Prime Minister Liviu Dragnea stated.Early September, nuclear power pro-ducer Nuclearelectrica (SNN.RO) hadannounced that China Nuclear PowerCorporation qualified in the process ofinvestor section for the construction ofthe two reactors.

Electrica IPOValue of transaction: EUR 444 millionLegal team issuer: Allen&OveryLegal team underwriters: Paul HastingLLP, Musat&AsociatiiLegal team, GDR depositary: CliffordChance Badea

DEALS OF THE YEAR 23www.business-review.eu Business Review | December, 2014

Description: Romanian power supplierand distributor Electrica listed sharesand global depositary receipts on theLondon and Stock Exchanges. The un-derwriting syndicate selected by Elec-trica was formed by Raiffeisen Bank,Citigroup, BRD Societe Generale andSwiss Capital. The IPO was completedin June 2014.

Fondul Proprietatea sells 5 percent stake in RomgazValue of transaction: EUR 147 millionLegal team buyer: N/ALegal team seller: Clifford Chance BadeaDescription: Fondul Proprietatea sold a 5 percent stake in state controlledgas producer Romgaz via private placement. The deal was completed inJune 2014.

Canaccord IPO Value of transaction: N/ALegal team (Canaccord): CMSLegal team (investor): BPV GrigorescuDescription: Canaccord’s listing of anumber of Romania-based renewableenergy projects on the Canadian stockexchange market was reported as thefirst IPO of a Romanian energy projecton the Toronto Stock Exchange.

MOL Group acquires Eni’s downstream businessValue of transaction: N/ALegal team buyer: CMSLegal team seller: Allen&Overy LLPDescription: In May, MOL Group an-nounced the sale-purchase agreementwith Eni for its downstream businessesin the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ro-mania, including retail network (cur-rently under Agip brand). In Romania,the acquisition is a major step for MOLGroup in achieving its strategic plan toincrease its market share. As a result ofintegrating the 42 acquired service sta-tions, MOL Romania will reach a networkof 189 units, placed in high traffic andpremium locations, thus the Group willrealize its growth targets in the Romanianfuel retail market and will further in-crease its network coverage.

FINANCEGothaer Finanzholding AG andaffiliated entity acquire entireshare capital of Gothaer Asigurari-Reasigurari SA from Constantin Toma andEfraim NaimerValue of transaction: N/ALegal team buyer: Wolf TheissLegal team seller: Voicu Filipescu, inassociation with Squire, Sanders andDempsey LLP – Partners Mugur Filipescuand Georgiana Badescu– legal advisorof the sellersDescription: The acquisition of the re-maining shareholding in Gothaer Asigurari-Reasigurari SA (former Platinum Asigurari-Reasigurari SA) from the company's founder ConstantinToma and his partner Efraim Naimer,

who both exit the Romanian company.As a result of this transaction, Gothaer Finanzholding AG and an affiliated entity acquired the entire share capital of Gothaer Asigurari-Reasig-urari SA.

Getin Holding buys VB LeasingRomania IFNValue of transaction: USD 16.7 millionLegal team buyer: Tuca Zbarcea & Aso-ciatii and Domanski Zakrzewski Palinkasp.kLegal team seller: Schonherr Rechtsan-walte GmbhDescription: Polish financial group GetinHolding signed an agreement with Aus-trian firm VB-Leasing International Hold-ing GmbH to acquire Romanian leasingcompany VB Leasing Romania IFN forPLN 52 million (USD 16.7 million), Me-diafax reported according to a press re-lease made public by Getin Holding.

Acquisition of a large non-performing loans portfoliooriginated by Volksbank RomaniaValue of transaction: EUR 495 millionLegal team buyer: Tuca Zbarcea & Aso-ciatii and Clifford Chance Badea –Deutsche BankLegal team seller: SchoenherrDescription: On July 28, 2014, BaysideCapital, a credit affiliate of H.I.G. Capital,together with AnaCap Financial Partnersand Deutsche Bank, announced the pur-chase through Romanian-registeredcompanies of a portfolio of EUR 495million of non-performing and sub-per-forming loans from Volksbank Romania.The portfolio comprising of over 3,500loans is backed by a mix of primarilyresidential and commercial real estate.The transaction was completed in July2014.

TeamNet International projectValue of transaction: EUR 15 million ofdebt and EUR 10 million of equityLegal team buyer: Hogan Lovells andBulboaca & AsociatiiLegal team seller: Tuca Zbarcea & Aso-ciatiiDescription: TeamNet International en-tered into a complex transaction - acombination of equity and debt - bywhich the International Finance Corpo-ration (IFC) and the Black Sea Tradeand Development Bank subscribedshares in total value of EUR 10 millionand provided a loan up to EUR 15 million.

UniCredit Tiriac Bank takes overcorporate business of RBS RomaniaValue of transaction: The agreementrefers to a total portfolio of aggregateassets of around EUR 260 million andcorporate deposits of around EUR 315million.Legal team buyer: Tuca Zbarcea & Aso-ciatiiLegal team seller: RTPR Allen&OveryDescription: In August this year Uni-Credit Tiriac Bank and RBS Romania an-nounced that they have agreed the trans-

fer of the corporate business of RBS Romania to UniCredit Tiriac Bank. The agreement refers to a totalportfolio of aggregate assets of aroundEUR 260 million and corporate deposits of around EUR 315 million. The deal follows the acquisition per-formed by UniCredit Tiriac Bank lastyear, comprising the Retail and RoyalPreferred Banking business of RBS Romania.

OTP Bank buys MillennniumBank RomaniaValue of transaction: EUR 39 million(including shares and costs of integra-tion)Legal team buyer: CMSLegal team seller: RTPR Allen&OveryDescription: The contract specifies thatOTP will receive 100 percent of Millen-nium Bank Romania shares and the bankitself will be integrated in the OTP BankRomania structure after legal formalitiesand approvals are obtained, writes Me-diafax. Discussions between OTP andMillennium began in October last yearand in order to successfully concludethe deal, the Romanian National Bank,the Portuguese National Bank, The Eu-ropean Commission and the CompetitionCouncil all had to sign off, according toLaszlo Diosi, CEO for OTP Bank Roma-nia.

MKB Bank sells Nextebank SAValue of transaction: N/ALegal team buyer: NNDKPLegal team seller: CMSDescription: MKB Bank sold its 96.3 per-cent stake in Nextebank S.A. The ac-quisition was made by a Dutch SPV ofAxxess Capital's private equity fund,Emerging Europe Accession Fund, whosemain investors include EBRD, EIF, DEGand BSTDB.

MKB Bank sells its local leasingsubsidiary to Trendo AutomotiveSRLValue of transaction: N/ALegal team buyer: N/ALegal team seller: CMSDescription: The transaction involvedthe MKB Bank’s divestment of its Romanian leasing subsidiary. The salewas made to Trendo Automotive SRL, alarge Romanian leasing business and amember of the International LeasingGroup.

Aegon buys Eureko’s life insurance and private pensionbusiness Value of transaction: N/ALegal team buyer: Tuca Zbarcea & Aso-ciatiiLegal team seller: CMSDescription: At the beginning of this year Aegon tookover Eureko’s life insurance and private pension business lines. As a result of the trans-action Aegon became the third largestprivate pension supplier in Romania,having about 650.000 members while its life insurance portfolio places it among the first ten largest oneson the market.

FOOD HEALTHCAREMontagu Private Equity LLP sells Euromedic InternationalValue of transaction: N/ALegal team: Clifford ChanceDescription: Montagu Private EquityLLP one of Europe’s longest establishedprivate equity firms, sold its holding inEuromedic International, the largestpan-European medical services provider,to Ares Life Sciences, the majority owner of Euromedic. Euromedic operates 144 Diagnostic and CancerTreatment Centers in 14 countries across Europe (key countries includePoland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Romania, Turkey, Switzerland and Italy).The transaction was completed in October 2014.

INDUSTRYSaffron Holding A/S sells sharesheld in Flexfoil SRLValue of transaction: EUR 1,725,000Legal team buyer: N/ALegal team seller: Wolf TheissDescription: Saffron Holding A/S soldits shares held in Flexfoil SRL. Moreparticularly, Wolf Theiss has assistedSaffron Holding A/S in relation to thenegotiation, signing and closing of theshare-purchase agreement, including inrelation to the fulfilment of the condi-tions precedent to the transaction.

ITOresa Ventures buys RomanianBusiness ConsultValue of transaction: N/ALegal team buyer: Popovici Nitu & Aso-ciatiiLegal team seller: KinstellarDescription: Swedish venture capitalOresa Ventures tookover a minority package in IT solutions supplier for retail sector, Romanian Business Consult(RBC). The acquisition represents the entrance of Oresa Ventures on theIT segment.

MEDIAProSiebenSat.1 sells Prima TV to Cristian BurciValue of transaction: N/ALegal team buyer: Drinceanu & Asoci-atiiLegal team seller: Popovici Nitu & Aso-ciatii. Other law firms advising the seller:ProSiebenSat.1: Milbank, Tweed, Hadley& McCloy LLP and Schoenherr Description: German media groupProSiebenSat.1 sold Kiss TV and KissFM, Magic FM, One FM and Rock FMradio stations to Antenna Group fromGreece while Prima TV was sold to the



businessman Cristian Burci. Once withthe acquisition of the five local radiostations Antenna Group entered on theRomanian media market.

REAL ESTATECarrefour Romania owns and operates ParkLake hypermarketValue of transaction: EUR 180 million in-vestmentsLegal team buyer: Tuca Zbarcea & Asoci-atiiLegal team seller: N/ADescription: In September this year Car-refour Romania announced it has reachedan agreement with Sonae Sierra to ownand operate a hypermarket in ParkLake,a commercial center developed by SonaeSierra and Caelum Development inBucharest. Further to this agreement,Carrefour will own and operate a 12,000sqm hypermarket following investmentsworth EUR 180 million.

Policolor sells its property onTheodor Pallady to real estate developerValue of transaction: N/ALegal team buyer: N/ALegal team seller: N/ADescription: On September this year Policolor announced it has agreedto sell its property on Theodor Pallady to a real estate developer. According to Marius Vacaroiu, CEO – Policolor – Orgachim, “the fundsobtained from the transaction will be directed towards developing anew platform, a project which Policolor is about to start. The platform will include new factories, for which the company is waiting on per-mits“.

Accession Fund sells Charles deGaulle PlazaValue of transaction: N/ALegal team buyer: N/ALegal team seller: Clifford Chance BadeaDescription: Accession Fund/ GLL RealEstate Partners transferred Charles deGaulle Plaza, a 40,000 sq.m office centerin Bucharest to another fund managedby GLL. The deal was completed in Jan-uary 2014.

Accession Fund to sell Casa StegaValue of transaction: N/ALegal team buyer: N/ALegal team seller: Clifford Chance BadeaDescription: Accession Fund/ GLL Real Estate Partners sold Casa Stega, a class A office building in Bucharest.The deal was completed in July 2014.

O1 Group Limited to acquire 16percent of Austrian CA ImmoValue of transaction: EUR 295 millionLegal team buyer: Clifford ChanceLegal team seller: FreshfieldsDescription: O1 Group Limited acquireda 16 percent stake in Austrian CA Immofrom UniCredit. The 15,954,891 ordinaryshares bought by O1 Group represent theentire participation held by UniCredit inCA Immo and correspond to approxi-mately 16.35 percent of the outstandingshare capital and voting rights of CAImmo. The deal was completed in October2014.

Tuilia Invest SA buys C&I Building SRLValue of transaction: N/ALegal team buyer: Popovici Nitu & Aso-ciatiiLegal team seller: N/ADescription: Tuilia Invest SA purchasedthe entire share package in C&I Building

SRL (the vehicle developing the officebuilding Unirii View Tower) owned byCasuneanu family. The premises where Unirii View project will be devel-oped is located near the OMV gas stationfrom Corneliu Coposu Avenue and it was owned in total by Casuneanu familytill 2008 when they assigned it to YvesWeerts.

Romenergo Group sells 1.2hectares to NEPIValue of transaction: EUR 10-20 million(ZF and public estimations)Legal team buyer: N/ALegal team seller: Popovici Nitu & Asociatii Description: Romenergo Group, a company controlled by the businessmanDragos Bilteanu sold 1.2 hectares to South-African fund NEPI. The acquisition willcontribute to the extension of the Promenada mall that was recently bought by NEPI for EUR 148 million.

RETAILbauMax group restructuredValue of transaction: EUR 17 millionLegal team buyer: NoerrLegal team seller: Wolf TheissDescription: The sale of all shares of Im-morom Sigma SA (previously Immocon-sult Leasing Romania IFN SA) by thecompany's shareholders VB Real EstateServices GmbH, VB Real Estate LeasingAlpha GmbH, VB Real Estate LeasingBeta GmbH, VB Real Estate Leasing DeltaGmbH and VB Real Estate Leasing Gam-ma GmbH towards PVN Romania SRLand Inprox Bucuresti SRL, both buyersbeing part of bauMax Group.The trans-action was closed in the context of thebauMax group exit from the local market

and the acquisition of the entire groupby the French group Adeo, the owner ofthe Leroy Merlin retail chain. The latterwill take over the 15 stores which wereoperated by bauMax in Romania, in-cluding the ones owned by ImmoromSigma SA. The acquisition meant the re-structuring of the whole bauMax groupin Romania, involving a number of tencredit institutions, among which fivebanks and five leasing companies andnon-banking financial institutions. Thetransaction is regarded as the most com-plex reorganization process ever to beundertaken by bauMax and will focuson five markets in CEE.

OTHER INDUSTRIESASO Siderurgica takes overCromsteel IndustriesValue of transaction: EUR 25 millionLegal team: Musat & Asociatii (ap-proached by Banca Nazionale Del Lavoroand UniCredit for a compound transac-tion).Other firms advising on the matterand their role: Schoenherr – legal advicefor Cromsteel Industries; Studio Mendolia– for ASO SiderurgicaDescription: takeover of Cromsteel In-dustries (one of the most important localplayers in the steel industry) by ASOSiderurgica, an Italian company special-ized in the production of special largesteel ingots and forged bars, mainly foruse in the oil & gas, petrochemicals, pow-er generation, aerospace, mechanicaland maritime industries.

Platinum Equity LLC buys 70 per-cent of TerraTest GroupValue of transaction: N/ALegal team: Musat & Asociatii. Otherfirms advising on the matter and theirrole: Baker & McKenzie – legal advicefor Platinum Equity LLC; Allen & OveryRomania– for Platinum Equity LLC;Gómez-Acebo & Pombo Abogados – forPlatinum EquityDescription: Platinum Equity LLC wasinvolved in a transaction resulting inthe acquisition of 70 percent interest inthe holding company of Terratest Group(a major Spanish company specializedin the geo-technical field, excavation,drilling and soil treatment systems), in-cluding the Romanian subsidiary of thecompany.

Omya Calcita SRL acquires calcite quarry from Gabbro Minerale SRLValue of transaction: N/ALegal team: Musat & Asociatii. Otherfirms advising on the matter and theirrole: N/A Description: Omya Calcita was involvedin a transaction in connection with theacquisition of the calcite quarry held by Gabbro Minerale S.R.L. in Hune-doara County, which included the trans-fer of both the exploitation license andthe real estate assets pertaining to thequarry.

Experts say the local M&A market is showing signs of recovery but it is dominated by small to medium deals

26 EXCELLENCE IN BUSINESSwww.business-review.eu


20 years of excellence qualityon the Romanian hotels market

You have been present on the Roman-

ian market for over 20 years. What did

it mean for your business so far?

Accor was the first international hotelchain to enter Romania after the rev-olution in 1989 and it was the initialspark needed to raise the interests ofothers to follow us. From this point ofview we have contributed a lot to thedevelopment of the internationaltourism structures and standardswhich are now established not only inBucharest but also transferred intothe rest of the country.

What are your company's most impor-

tant achievements in the 20 years on

the local market?

It’s always amazing for me to see howmany colleagues who are workingnow in various positions for other ho-tels have started their career in thetourism industry in our hotel. Lastmonth we hosted the regular meetingof the Skal Club (association of pro-fessionals working in the tourism in-dustry), which by the way wasfounded 15 years ago by the GeneralManager working at our hotel at thattime, and realized that you havetoday at least 5 General Managers indifferent hotels in Bucharest whoworked for our company in the past(including me by the way). Most ofthem are women and all of them talkhighly about their time and experi-ences they have made when workingat our hotel. So we can proudly saythat we have contributed a lot to theeducation of tourism professionals inthis country and at the same time pro-moted diversity.

How did the local hotel market

evolve in the 20 years you have been

here?

It grew naturally and followed all thedevelopments and technological rev-olutions which disrupted the tourismindustry in this time. Romania and

Bucharest have an immense potentialfor touristic development and thismakes me look back on the past 20years with pride, but also look aheadwith a lot of optimism. Everyone whogets to know Romania is amazed bythe huge touristic potential of thecountry which so far has only beentouched marginally. I’m not talkingmass tourism here, however with theDanube Delta, the Maramures monasteries, the Transfagarasan andTransalpina roads and so many otherunique sites in this country, you haveall the ingredients you need to de-velop niche markets and sustainabletourism concepts – and that’s exactlywhere the tourism trends of the 21stcentury are going. Bucharest as thecapital city and international metrop-olis will remain the entry and exit

point which also offers a lot to dis-cover.

What is the success recipe behind Pull-

man Bucharest, considering the long

tradition it has on the local market?

The success of our hotel will alwaysbe the people working for it. We are inthe service industry and without agreat team you cannot have any suc-cess. We are a wonderful team – manyworking here since the opening – andthis says a lot about us. In addition wehave and we always will be staying ontop of the trends. Our hotel was oneof the first to bring new bedding con-cepts to Bucharest which are sohighly appreciated by the clients thatnowadays you can even buy them on-line and you see them enter also intoeconomy hotels in adapted versions.We have been one of the first hotelsoffering WiFi internet access to ourclients and today we are the leadinghotel offering high speed WiFi free ofcharge in all guestrooms and publicareas of the hotel. We are also playinga leading role in the development ofrestaurant concepts. Barbizon Steak-house was one of the first serioussteakhouse concepts in town, againcopied and followed by others.

What is the strategy you implemented

on the local market so far?

It’s not a secret formula. When youare working for an international chainyou need to take the full advantage ofyour quality, standards and proce-dures which ensure a consistent qual-ity, service and guest experience allaround the world and combine themwith the local ingredients to create asymbiosis between the internationalhotel brand and the local community.Bucharest is a very corporate drivenhotel market – and therefore Pullmanis the perfect brand for this city be-cause the needs of today’s corporatetravelers are in our brand’s DNA. At

Pullman we work hard and play hard!

How important is to your clients a long

- standing tradition on the hospitality

market?

It’s important because they know and appreciate us. We have a long his-tory and reputation on the market.That’s why we have so many regularclients always coming back to us.They know exactly what they can ex-pect from us and appreciate that. Yet,we permanently improve and keep onexceeding their expectations againand again.

What were the most important chal-

lenges you had to deal with in the 20

years you have been present in Roma-

nia?

Romania and especially Bucharest isa rather small market with a strongshare of corporate travel, whileleisure tourism has a lot of potentialfor further growth. Due to this, themarket has shown strong reactions tonew hotel openings and was also al-ways heavily impacted by globalevents like 9/11, pandemic fears (SARS,swine flu, etc) and the recent financialcrisis from which the market is stillrecovering.

Starting with 2009 Sofitel became Pull-

man. How important was this brand

change to your business?

It’s been the logic evolution of ourhotel after Accor took the decision toupgrade the Sofitel brand to a deluxechain and introducing the Pullmanbrand for the new generation of trav-elers, both corporate and leisure. Pull-man is one of the most vibrant andinnovative brands in the industrywhich keeps us under permanentchallenge to continue our path ofbeing a market leader. It makes meproud to see how the team is realizingthis mission and how much ourclients appreciate this.

Markus Koller, the general manager at Hotel Pullman tells Business Review about the hotel’s most importantachievements in its 20 years of presence on the local market and emphasizes the main ingredients of the success recipe behind Pullman Bucharest.

Photo: M

ihai Constantineanu

20 YEARS OF EX

Work hard – Play hard: The

essence and DNA of Hotel Pullman

Part of Accor, the world’s leading hoteloperator, it offers unrivalled access toBucharest’s business community.Opened back in 1994 Pullman is for cer-tain one of the success stories. Thus, re-cently Accor was pleased to announcethat after 20 years of successful collab-oration, it will continue to manage thePullman Bucharest World Trade Center,for 5 more years. “Pullman is an upscalebrand. This means we are providing awide range of services which our cus-tomers are expecting to find at our hotelin a way that we don’t oblige them, yetwhen they need them they are rightthere without them even asking for it,”says Markus Koller the general managerof Hotel Pullman.

A significant moment for the hotelwas back in 2009 when Sofitel becamePullman. As Koller says, it has been alogical step as the hotel is not a deluxeone and its customers are not expectingthis from it. “Pullman is the perfectbrand for our location and property. Weare located in the heart of the businessdistrict, right next to Bucharest’s largestexhibition center,” adds the GM. Askedabout the “portrait” of the Pullman cus-tomer in Romania, Koller says it is aboutthe new generation of business trav-ellers, tech-savvy and permanentlyconnected. “It’s interesting to observe

how the barriers between work and freetime disappear when you see peopleworking on their projects over breakfast,lunch or dinner – sometimes even in thegym. Or they come to Bucharest forbusiness, yet know exactly where toparty in Bucharest. Work hard – Playhard. That’s the essence and that’s theDNA of the Pullman brand,” he says.

Always staying close to the needs ofits clients seems to be the motto forPullman. This is why it is amongst thehotels with the fastest Wi-Fi internetconnection in the city that it’s free ofcharge for its clients. “In the future youwill be able to not only make your reser-vation at Pullman via your mobilephone, but also your check-in. You willopen your door with your mobile phone,it will be your virtual concierge duringyour stay and when you check-out youare doing this as well via your phoneconfirming all your billing details andinvoice with a simple click,” says Koller.

Leadership leads to successPullman hotels are vibrant, cosmopoli-tan hotels where business and leisurebecomes “bleisure”. It is the place tomeet for the new generation of tech-savvy, hyper connected travellers.Every employee identifies with theircustomers, who identify themselves

with the brand and this is how the cyclegoes on. “In the service industry, espe-cially in the tourism industry you can-not achieve success without anexcellent team. You can own the besthotel in the world, yet without the rightpeople working there you won’t haveany success. While on the other handside a fantastic team can bring successto places you would not have expected,”adds the GM. He also says that he triesto stay close to the team. “We are havingsuccess and sometimes we make mis-takes which we learn from and grow.”

Asked about what matters the mostfor the company’s success from the em-ployee’s perspective, Koller is very di-rect. “We put the needs of our guests inthe center of our actions. While otherhotels tell to their clients ‘Let us explainyou how things are working here’ weare asking instead ‘What can we do foryou today?’ and have the solution ide-ally already before the client is even ex-pressing his needs.”

Planet 21: A sustainable development Sustainability and sustainable develop-ment are two concepts that gained a lotof ground in Romania in the last decade.For example, with Planet 21, Accor hasmade 21 commitments in favour of sus-tainable development.

Intrinsically linked to sustainabledevelopment, the name Planet 21 refersto Agenda 21, the action plan adoptedby 173 Heads of State at the 1992 EarthSummit in Rio de Janeiro. It also echoesthe urgent need to focus efforts in the21st century to change Accor’s produc-tion and consumption patterns with thegoal of protecting our planet, its peopleand their environment.

“The core of Planet 21 is the Charter 21which describes actions around the 7pillars: Health, Nature, Carbon, Innova-tion, Local, Employment and Dialogue.Planet 21 was launched in 2012 with theaim to combine and coordinate all thedifferent actions and ambitions in re-spect to sustainable development andCSR under one umbrella,” explainsKoller. All the 7 pillars are applied in Ro-mania. “Accor always was an industryleader in sustainable development.Waste separation, child protection, di-versity. All those projects were alreadyin place when I came to work for thishotel first time in 2003,” says the Pull-man representative. He adds: “Romaniahosts one of the projects which Accorsupports through the ‘Plant for thePlanet’ initiative. We measure the sav-ings our clients realize through thetowel and linen re-use programs and apart of those savings is donated for re-forestations projects. One of them is lo-cated in Romania and Accor financed todate the reforestation of more than1.000.000 trees in the country.”

Additionally, employees of all Accorhotels in Bucharest and volunteers of

“Mihai Eminescu Trust” take part eachyear, together with the hotel guests andpartners in the Planet 21 Day, plantingtrees in various areas around the city.

“Actually, the 1.000.000th tree wasplanted by HRH Prince Charles himself.And that, for us, was an incredible hon-our,” adds Koller. “Together with ourlocal partners, “Mihai Eminescu Trust”,with this initiative we won the first priceat the Civil Society Gala” – EnvironmentProtection section, as well as the ImpactAward,” he concludes.

A strong brand. 20 years of experience on the Romanian hotel market. Very high quality of its services. Sustain-able development. These are few of the main attributes of the well known Hotel Pullman that Markus Koller, thegeneral manager of the hotel tells Business Review.

EXCELLENCE IN BUSINESS 27www.business-review.euBusiness Review | December, 2014

Photo: M

ihai Constantineanu

CELLENCE

30 TELECOMwww.business-review.eu


Strict targets and massiveinvestments line IT&C road

acy data, fixed broadband internetcoverage has seen a surge in ruralareas, reaching 78 percent in 2013,while mobile broadband coveragereached 41 percent.

Only about 8 percent of Romani-ans shopped online and 13 percent oflarge companies and 9 percent ofSMEs sold their products online in2013, according to data presented byVoicu.

From 90 percent broadband cover-age in 2013, Romania must reach fullbroadband coverage by 2020. In 2013,broadband coverage at speeds of 30Mbps stood at 66 percent, but it mustclimb to 80 percent by 2020. Similarly,fixed broadband connections atspeeds that exceeded 100 Mbps stoodat 25 percent in 2013 but must come torepresent 45 percent by 2020.

Online sales will be massively en-couraged: from 8 percent in 2013,they must reach 30 percent in 2020.

eGovernment services must de-velop substantially, according to thetargets of the Digital Agenda. In 2013,only 5 percent of the Romanian pop-ulation used eGovernment services,but by 2020, this proportion is ex-

pected to grow to 35 percent. While at the moment, only 9 per-

cent of SMEs sell their products on-line, the Digital Agenda targetsstipulate that by 2020, 20 percent ofthem will do so.

The investments that Romanianeeds to fulfill the targets of the Digi-tal Agenda 2020 total approximatelyEUR 3.9 billion. The instruments thatcan be used to finance broadband andNGN development include structuralfunds, the Connecting Europe Facilityand private investments.

The single digital market is not anoption for Europe, it is a necessity. IfEurope fails to make the transition tothe single digital market, there will beheavy costs which will amount to atleast 4.1 percent of GDP by 2020. Thishas been evaluated at EUR 500 billion,which would mean EUR 1,000 percapita.

According to estimations, a 10 per-cent growth in broadband penetra-tion boosts GDP by up to 1.5 percent,said Voicu.

Broadband development comesfirst and foremost among the priori-ties of the Digital Agenda.

By 2020, the National Next Gener-ation Network is estimated to generate 5 percent GDP growth locally,an 8 percent surge in the number of jobs, full internet access at speedsof more than 30 Mbps and 50 percentaccess to speeds higher than 100Mbps.

The NGN plan will encourage ac-cess to existing infrastructure, sim-plify procedures for new networkdevelopments, stimulate private in-vestments in infrastructure and im-prove transparency in civil works,said Voicu.

Telecom players plead forbetter collaboration withauthorities

“There are very high volumes of datathat must be transferred via thetelecom networks and the degree of

digitalization, especially in rural areas, will also increase. This willmean that we must sign partnershipswith local authorities, something weare very interested in,” said MariusMaritescu, core & services director,Telekom Romania, during Focus onTelecom.

The Digital Agenda for Europe 2020 aims to achieve a single digital market, spread fast internet access, boostR&D and develop digital skills among the public. This should bring substantial benefits for Romania, but thelevel of investments that the country must make by 2020 to comply with its strict IT&C targets is EUR 3.9 billion.

1. First panel: moderator Tony Romani, manager in transaction advisory services, E&Y Romania; Diana Voicu, secretary of state, The Ministry for Information Society;

Catalin Marinescu, president of ANCOM 2. Representatives of local operators: Mihai Tudor, head of service quality & efficiency management, Orange Romania;

Marius Maritescu, core & services director, Telekom Romania; Mircea Beju, director network deployment and technology enterprise solutions, Vodafone Romania

1 2

∫ OTILIA HARAGA

Digital Agenda sets Romaniaon path to the single marketBy 2020, the implementation of thisstrategy is expected to boost GDP by13 percent, increase the number ofjobs by 11 percent, and cut public ad-ministration expenses by 12 percent,representing EUR 26.6 million peryear, Diana Voicu, state secretary inthe Ministry for Information Society,said during the Focus on Telecomevent organized by Business Review. The digital targets that Europe has setfor Romania are very ambitious, giventhat last year, 42 percent of the popu-lation had still never used the internet.The Digital Agenda aims to reducethis to 30 percent.

Only 45 percent of the public usedthe internet on a weekly basis, ac-cording to last year’s statistics, but by2020, 60 percent are expected to do so.

Among the poor, only 27 percentused the internet weekly in 2013. By2020, this is expected to reach 45 per-cent.

Despite discouraging digital liter-

INTERVIEW 31www.business-review.euBusiness Review | December, 2014

1. Second panel: moderator Sergiu Negut, managing partner, Mindit; speaker George Cozos, partner channel development

manager Microsoft 2. Second panel speakers: Stefan Baciu, channel manager, business analytics, South Eastern Europe,

IBM; Stefan Iarca, country head, Carnation Group, part of Possible; Alexandru Molodoi, CTO Idea City

1

2What development plans do you have

for the next couple of years?

Technological development, in e-com-merce and not only, is very importantfor us and we will continue to innovate.Mobile gaming is another important pil-lar of services where we are pursuingthe first major development in 2015.

Many people now say, “Content isking” but personally, I would bet that,

“Entertainment is king.” I would like tosee a shift in budgets towards entertain-ment, towards “real customer satisfac-tion.” I hope to see it in 2015.

What turnover and profit do you esti-

mate for this year?

The financial indicators will be commu-nicated after the second quarter of 2015.We are focusing on both the local andregional market, given the substantialgrowth of the Turkish market and theaverage growth of the Bulgarian one.

How active are you in mobile gaming

in Romania?

Mobile gaming is very important to usand we are bringing a series of best-practice in the European area and in Ro-mania. Possible’s innovation center islocated in CEE. Also here is the gaming division PossibleGames. The latter is the youngest spinoffof the agency which has recentlylaunched several very well receivedproducts on the local market: Small andFurious, Die Hard (the game of the latestDie Hard film, with 4 million downloads),The End app (with 9 million downloads)but also products such as Smart Egg.

Games currently represent around33-35 percent of the number of down-loads on mobile devices while on tabletsthe rate is close to 50 percent, whichmakes this type of communication a veryattractive environment.

[email protected]

3QStefan Iarcacountry head,CarnationGroup,part of Possible

Unfortunately, relations with theauthorities are not always smooth,complained operators.

“We come across rather big difficul-ties in obtaining authorizations forsetting up our mobile stations, whichmakes us adjust things as we go,” saidMircea Beju, director of network de-ployment and technology enterprisesolutions, Vodafone Romania.

“There were situations when deci-sions by local councils impeded theinstallations,” confirmed Mihai Tudor,head of service quality & efficiency

management, Orange Romania. Headded that the equipment must be replaced frequently. “We are talkingabout life expectancy of at most fiveyears for the equipment we are using.”

Last month, the Romanian tele-com watchdog ANCOM announcedthat it had come to an agreement withtelecom players on the format andway to transmit the information nec-essary to compile the inventory ofpublic telecom networks and avail-able infrastructure elements. The au-thority will be able to compile maps

indicating the coverage of these net-works in every Romanian locality, andindicating the situation of the avail-able infrastructure elements. Accord-ing to institution officials, telecomplayers will send the authority dataregarding the network segments,points of access to the network, andso on.

The three largest telecom opera-tors in Romania are expanding their4G networks at a rapid pace.

[email protected]

32 HOW TO WEBwww.business-review.eu


‘Sales & marketing is abig problem in Romania’

of our exits have taken place when thecompanies we invested in are bought byother companies. Usually, we make anexit after between two to five years. Weare early stage and usually the cycles arerather long.

Have you invested in any Romanian start-

ups?

Not on the accelerator but on the seedfund, we have invested in a Romaniancompany out of Cluj called Pangea. (ed.note: which develops technology thatsupports internet use on mobile phones,without the need for a data connectionor Wi-Fi.) We invested in June or July.

What regions are most companies you in-

vest in from?

Probably about 70 percent of them arefrom the US and 30 percent are interna-tional. But it depends. In our presentbatch, 30 companies are from MountainView, San Francisco. Of our presentbatch, we have 53 percent internationalcompanies, including Canada. In the US,startups are more sales & marketingdriven than elsewhere, but generallyentrepreneurs are entrepreneurs.

How was your experience at Yahoo!?

I spent ten and a half years at Yahoo!. Ispent two years as a brand manager inthe international marketing group,three years in global sales operations,three years in global sales strategy andthree years in the emerging marketsgroup, which first brought me out here.I left Yahoo! about three years ago be-cause I wanted to do something differ-ent. When I joined the company, therewere about 3,000 people and when I leftthere were about 14,000 people, so itwas a very different company.

[email protected]

∫ OTILIA HARAGA

You have worked with startups from all

over the globe. Does that also include Ro-

manian ones?

Yes, over the last three years or so. I amon the advisory board ofChargeAds.com, which is based here inBucharest. The founder is a good friendof mine; his name is Mihai Fanache.

So what are their biggest needs and chal-

lenges?

There are a lot of challenges. Technicaltalent is not an issue here; there is a lotof technical talent. Sales & marketing isa big problem, which is really interest-ing, because when you’re a country likeRomania, which is relatively small, thepeople are very Western minded, edu-cation is pretty good and the level ofEnglish is amazing, so it is very surpris-ing to me that more Romanian compa-nies do not think globally or regionallyfrom the beginning. I haven’t figuredout why. Also, another concern of mineis that people do not think big enough.

What are the hot investment areas as

seen from Silicon Valley?

Fin-tech companies are popular, andthe internet-of-things – so the hardwareplus software combination – is verypopular now. But my advice, as an in-vestor in startups, is: “Don’t invest insomething that is popular becauseyou’re going to lose your money.”

Have you been a solo investor yourself?

I did six or seven angel investments be-fore I joined 500 Startups. I am not agreat investor, but the thing is that mostof your early – all your early invest-ments – are going to be horrible becauseyou don’t know what you’re doing. Youlearn by basically losing money. I feellike I am a much better investor now be-cause when you make bad investments,you get better pattern recognition.

What is your activity at 500 Startups?

I spend 50 percent of my time on the ac-celerator that we have in San Francisco,probably another 20-30 percent on myseed portfolio (because we are a venturecapital firm too, so I make investmentsthere), and the rest of the time onfundraising.

How much do you typically invest?

We have invested in over 900 compa-nies now. The typical investment checkwe give is between USD 50,000 and USD100,000. We invest in valuations ofcompanies from USD 1-5 million. Most

Previously a client-facing senior executive at Yahoo!and China Search International, Marvin Liao is cur-rently working with promising startups across theglobe in 500 Startups, based in Silicon Valley.

‘Startups need to get to aconditional yes’

existing model from somewhere else. You will not build a multi-milliondollar company but you can build ameaningful company with maybe 200 employees or something like that.

Another thing that you can do is uti-lize something that is called the Israelimodel: you leave the R&D in yourcountry or the engineering and movethe commercial operations to anotherlocation where it makes more sense.Such an example from Europe is Zen-Desk, started in Copenhagen.

A third approach that you can takeis run a business where it doesn’t mat-ter where you are, you could just aswell be in Romania as anywhere else.But to build a multi-million dollar com-pany headquartered in Romania, thatis very hard.

Are all the startups admitted into the

Techstars program from the UK?

In the program in London, we had 11companies that we’ve invested in –three of them were from the UK, one ofthem was from Ireland, two were from the US, and one each from Ger-many, Spain, Israel, South Korea andEstonia.

Did any Romanian ones apply?

Yes, definitely. I cannot rememberwhich ones they were but I remembertalking to and interviewing one or twoRomanian entrepreneurs.

What is the level of investment?

We always invest USD 120,000. We getfounders’ stock so we exit typically atthe same time an entrepreneur wouldexit. So when a company is acquired,or when there is a very large investorwho comes in and wants to buy a cer-tain stake in the company, sometimeswe sell our stake.

Can you give a few recent examples of

startups that were selected?

We have 14 different programs. Inseven of them, they can invest in any-thing, no restrictions, while certainprograms have a very strong verticalfocus and these are typically done incollaboration with one large industrialpartner. In London we invested in a company that is building a newversion of e-mail or in a company thatallows you to buy food and merchan-dise at very large stadiums; we in-vested in a social network for mothersand also in a reputation managementcompany.

[email protected]

∫ OTILIA HARAGA

As managing director of Techstars, can

you suggest a few principles for a lean

startup?

What you want to find is a marketwhere there is a significant demand foryour product and very little competi-tion. You look for that opportunity andwhen you think you’ve found one, yougo to potential customers and say: “Ithink you have this problem. If I builda solution for you, would you be happyto pay me?” Something along thoselines. And then you see what the cus-tomer says.

What I tell entrepreneurs is that thebest technique that I know is to get toa conditional “yes,” when the customersays “Yes, I will pay you and this is howmuch I will pay you, provided that thefollowing conditions are true.”

If you have two or three people whosay that, even if it’s not a legally signedcontract, the probability that you willbe able to actually build a business isvery, very high.

What emerging entrepreneurial hubs

have caught your eye in Eastern Eu-

rope?

Russia is definitely an economy that islegally, culturally and economicallysomewhat closed off to the West, sothe big companies that have been builtin Russia are partly or largely compa-nies that resemble those that havebeen built in the US. You have the so-cial network, search engine and classi-fieds, all the same categories, butbecause American companies cannotpenetrate the Russian market, theyhave the monopoly.

By contrast, really small countrieslike Moldova or Slovenia cannot builda multi-million dollar company thatjust serves that respective market. Thatis actually good news because peopledon’t try. What they do is go interna-tional right away.

Also, there are a couple of marketsegments where you can build verysuccessful companies; it doesn’t mat-ter where you are. The best example ofthat is mobile gaming, because youpublish your game at the app store andall your marketing is digital, so youdon’t need to have physical customercontact.

So for Romania the solution would be a

mixed plan?

For any country that is this kind ofsize, you have three options. You canbuild a local company that copies an

As managing director at Techstars, Jens Lapinski iscurrently responsible for selecting startups for invest-ment. He outlines a few rules that entrepreneurs canapply to start off their business on the right foot.

HOW TO WEB 33www.business-review.euBusiness Review | December, 2014

‘ The startup communityis seen as higher risk’

That is primarily a function of the in-vestor. The challenge with our approachis that you cannot be hands-on with tencompanies; you need to be more in anadvisory role, checking in on a monthlybasis or something like that. The truehands-on angel investor only has thetime to do one or two companies so thatlimits their ability to build their portfolio.The really important element of work-ing with ten companies is when theybegin to have the discipline to create thereporting structure that you need.

As program manager at Angelsbootcamp,

what do you do every day?

We have done three of these, and we aregoing to do more in 2015. One of thethings is to evaluate what works in ourprogram and what doesn’t. Also, as aprogram director, we raise money tosupport the program so we are talkingwith partners, both for financial reasonsso that we can have sponsors, but alsowe are talking with the EIF and EBAN,because we want to aggregate some ofthe European resources through ourprogram so that we can explain them.The EIF has a USD 7 billion fund thatsupports the startup ecosystem but noteveryone knows how to tap into it. Al-most all tax information and tax bene-fits are local by nature. So we want toaggregate that information so that youcan look it up online and say: “Hey, I’min Romania, what matching funds areavailable to me, what tax benefits can Iget?” We are gathering the information;it’s still in the early stages.

What are angel investors in SEE specifi-

cally interested in?

What we are seeing in newer cities is re-ally more about the onboarding process.They want the baseline of angel prac-tices because it is new to them. Forthem, it is actually about instructionalinformation to make sure they under-stand what they are getting into.

[email protected]

∫ OTILIA HARAGA

According to Angelsbootcamp, there are

about 300,000 active angel investors but

millions of potential ones. How would you

comment on this?

The information comes out of studiesfrom EBAN (the European Trade Asso-ciation for Business Angels, Seed Fundsand Early Stage Market Players) andsome other sources and basically weunderstand that there are probablyaround 3 million people that have thecapabilities to become angel investorswithin Europe, of which we see about10 percent in the active community,which is the 300,000 number. The chal-lenge is that most of these individualsare currently investing in more tradi-tional asset classes than startups, suchas in real estate or stocks. The startupcommunity and angel investing are per-ceived as difficult and higher risk. Buttypically, the 90 percent are okay withthe risk. The risk is not what is prevent-ing them but the perception that angelinvesting is difficult.

Do you have any data on the degree of

risk of angel investments?

In the startup community, four out offive or eight out of ten businesses fail.What we do know is that if you raiseangel capital, that number doubles, soit goes from about 20 to about 40 per-cent. The reason is that the capital lastsyou longer, it may or may not get you tothe five-year point but you’re going tobe around past the 18 months point, sowhat we know is that with outside in-vestments, you typically can double theodds of success.

How would you encourage angel in-

vestors in the SEE region?

We have about 25 years of data whichshows that when you have a portfolio ofsix or more companies, there is a greatlikelihood that you’re going to generateeither your return on investment orsome sort of profit. And we see thatwhen you have a portfolio of 12 compa-nies, that doubles again. We need angelinvestors to be successful early on be-cause then they will come back and putmore money in it. If they make theirfirst investment and it fails, then theytend to think it is too risky. What we seeprimarily in Europe is that 97 percent ofthe angels co-invest, so they are not tak-ing the risk alone. What we want to seeis the local SEE angels create networksso that they can co-invest.

What level of involvement is required?

The angel investing community in Europe numbersabout 300,000 investors. Mike Doherty, program man-ager at Angelsbootcamp, tells BR that there are tentimes more potential business angels out there.

‘Romania attracts a lot ofHub:raum’s interest’

How do you prepare for failure?

One out of ten will succeed, that is thegeneral rule, but we are trying to min-imize that by selecting only the bestones and trying to make sure theyhave the product market fit, theyhave all the pre-conditions that arenecessary for a startup. We mentorthem and coach them along the wayfrom the start because we also investin prerevenue and pretraction, a sortof conceptual phase, alpha or betaversion, and then we take them alongthe way with us with a lot of our men-torship and development power.Then we launch them into the coun-try and they can really see from earlyon what works and what doesn’t andwhat they need to change.

How many Romanian startups are

there in the program right now?

At this point we have five investments,one of which is Romanian. I am refer-ring here to Omnipaste. We also havetwo Romanian teams we are in dis-cussions with right now. So, possibly,by the end of the year we could havethree. Romania represents a big por-tion of our interest and also activities.There are a lot of vibrant things goingon here.

What is the average investment you

make in a startup?

In general we invest EUR 80,000. Forus the exit does not matter. If it neverhappens but it still generates revenuefor our national companies, we areperfectly happy. If it happens, super,but this makes us different fromeveryone in the field except for corpo-rate venture funds. For us, generatingrevenues and bringing value to thenational companies is the most im-portant part.

[email protected]

∫ OTILIA HARAGA

What differences are there between

Hub:raum and the typical seed fund?

A lot. The basic one is that we are atelecom seed fund that serves a spe-cific purpose. We are part of DeutscheTelekom, and one of our primary ob-jectives is to find and identify innova-tions, really good opportunities anddisruptions in the telecom field. Whatdiffers is that for us one of the mostimportant things is the impact of rev-enue and innovation on our nationalcompanies.

So, we take the deals that we in-vest in and we launch them in differ-ent markets.

In Romania we have two deploy-ments right now. I believe they aregoing to be launched within the port-folio of Telekom Romania. One iscalled Omnipaste and the second iscalled EcoisMe. Both of them will belaunched in the DT portfolio withinthree to six months. Omnipaste is astartup from Sibiu which works onuniversal connection between de-vices. EcoisMe is a sort of smart algo-rithm that detects in real time whatdevices are connected in your houseand can name them.

What type of ventures does hub:raum

finance?

Since we are a telecom fund, we usu-ally finance startups with telecomsynergies: anything from telecommu-nications to internet-of-things, machine-to-machine, e-commerce,cyber-security, all sorts of things. Ba-sically, what we are trying to find issomething that we can offer to ourcustomers and make them happyalong the way – to help startups growand at the same time help our na-tional companies grow.

What are the eligibility conditions?

Basically, they just need to apply.They should go to our website or con-tact one of us because we meet fre-quently in Romania. We have aRomanian colleague working for usand I am also here every couple ofmonths. They just need to submit anapplication and then do a pitch for usand basically prepare sort of a tele-com synergy point of view. It’s not acomplicated process, basically a halfhour discussion. We also have an ac-celeration program in Krakow thatlasts for eight days and we use it as asort of additional evaluation proce-dure.

As investment manager at Hub:raum, DT’s incubator,Luka Sucic has a lot of insight into Romanian compa-nies. One has already been accepted into the programand another two seem viable candidates, he tells BR.

34 HUMAN RESOURCESwww.business-review.eu


Robert Arsene stepped downas generalmanager ofagribusinessgroup Agri-cover in De-cember, ac-cording to ZF.He had heldthe positionsince 2007

and is one of the best known execu-tives in the local agribusiness in-dustry. Arsene, 49, began his pro-fessional career with Coca-ColaHBC. In 2001 he was appointedcountry manager of Bunge and fiveyears later he started his own busi-ness. Arsene’s duties will be takenover by Stefan Bucataru and RobertRekkers.

Bogdan Aurescuhas been ap-pointed for-eign affairsminister byPM VictorPonta. He isreplacingTeodorMelescanuwho resignedafter only

eight days in office – the shortestterm a Romanian minister hasserved since 1989 – following irreg-ularities in the voting process forthe presidential elections outsideRomania. In his turn, Melescanureplaced Titus Corlatean who re-signed for the same reason. Au-rescu is an experienced diplomatbest known for representing Roma-nia in an international dispute withUkraine on the Black Sea continen-tal plateau and winning the case.Aurescu’s previous position withinthe ministry was secretary of state.He joined the Ministry of ForeignAffairs in 1996.

Sorana Baciuhas resigned as OMV Petrom’sstrategy director to start a newconsultancy business, according toZF. She had held the position forthe past seven years. Baciu previ-ously worked for ING (1997-2001and 2002-2004) and also forPorsche Bank Romania where shewas deputy general manager forfour years. She is a graduate of theBucharest Academy of EconomicStudies (ASE) and also holds amaster’s degree in internationaleconomic relations from the sameinstitution. Baciu also graduated

from a master’s program in manage-ment at McGill University in Canada.

Ciprian Banicais the new cre-ative directorof AtelierSapte andGrup Sapte.He has overten years ofprofessionalexperience inadvertising,having previ-

ously worked for agencies such asMercury360, Violet, Brandstalk, Nextand FCB. His portfolio includes sev-eral award winning campaigns. ARE

Paolo Colettohas been ap-pointed amember of theGenerali Ro-mania boardfor a four-yearterm. He is thecompany’s fi-nancial direc-tor. His pro-fessional

experience in insurance spans over27 years, the last 12 of which werespent in various management posi-tions. He began his career in 1987with Toro Assicurazioni SpA, part ofGenerali Group. Before coming toRomania, Coletto served as riskmanagement director for the group’snorth-west subsidiaries. He has adegree in economics and is special-ized in mergers and acquisitions.

Charles Crockerhas been appointed a member of themanagement board of the British-Romanian Chamber of Commerce(BRCC). He is the managing partnerof Front Line Consulting. Stan Dun-lop, partner at Dunlop Mills, and NeilMcGregor, the managing partner ofMcGregor & Partners have been ap-pointed to the same position. The as-sociation’s management board hasalso elected two vice-presidents:Colin Lovering, vice-president ofAchieve International, and JamesGrindley, vice-president at Certasig.

Calin Galaseanuhas been elected president of theRomanian Association of Interna-tional Medicine Manufacturers(ARPIM). He is the country managerof Bristol Myers Squibb. Elena Mi-tova, general director of Novartis Ro-mania, and Mihail Briciu, general di-rector of Novo Nordisk, were elected

as vice-presi-dents. The otherboard membersare LuanaIonascu, generaldirector of IpsenRomania, NolanTownsend, gen-eral director ofPfizer Romania,Adrian Grecu,

general director of Abbott Romania,and Fabrizio Giombini, general direc-tor of MSD Romania.

Adriana Grecuhas been appointed interim CEO andnew statutory general manager ofAon Romania, replacing ValentinTuca, who will leave the company inJune 2015. Tuca joined Aon in 2011and has also held regional responsi-bilities in as cluster manager of theSouth-Eastern European countrieswhere the company has operations.Grecu’s current position is chiefbroking officer (CBO). Her appoint-ment becomes effective as of De-cember.

Diana Moroianu has joined Clif-ford ChanceBadea as asso-ciate lawyer.She has sixyears of profes-sional experi-ence in businesslaw, havingworked with in-ternational law

firms since the beginning of her ca-reer. Over the years, she has built alegal advisory portfolio in banking aswell as M&A deals, advising busi-nesses such as retailers, pharmacychains, and credit institutions. In thebanking industry, she has been in-volved in projects related to cross-border finance, finance restructuring,syndicated loans, acquisition finance,project finance and real estate fi-nance. Moroianu, 30, will be part ofthe law firm’s banking, finance &capital market team coordinated bymanaging partner Daniel Badea. Shegraduated from the Bucharest Uni-versity Law School in 2007 and hasbeen a member of the Bucharest Barsince 2008.

Daniela Penehas been appointed a member of theGenerali Romania board for a four-year term. She is the company’ssales and marketing director. Penehas 15 years of professional experi-ence in the insurance industry with a

focus onsales. Overthe past nineyears she hasheld variousmanagementpositionswithin thecompany. Shestarted as

head of the retail insurance de-partment and was promoted to hercurrent position in early 2014.Pene graduated from the Market-ing Faculty, part of the Academy ofEconomic Studies in Bucharest.

Florin Pogonaruhas resignedas member ofthe supervi-sion board ofBanca Com-erciala Ro-mana (BCR).His resigna-tion comesafter the Eu-ropean Fi-

nancial Services Center (CEFS),which was founded by Pogonaruand where he acts as partner, is inthe process of closing a joint ven-ture with an international fund inorder to buy nonperforming loansfrom all Romanian banks, includ-ing BCR. He is also chairman ofthe Association of Romanian Busi-nesspeople (AOAR) and is involvedin several local companies.

Anda Marianhas joinedexecutivesearch firmPedersen &Partners asprincipal toits Bucharestoffice. Sheholds profes-sional experi-ence in lead-

ership consulting, with a focus onassessment and selection, as wellas in career advisory and manage-ment development Marian haspreviously worked for an advisoryfirm specialized in retained directexecutive search where she heldvarious management roles includ-ing executive director and knowl-edge management director. Beforejoining the executive search indus-try, she had acquired expertise inthe real estate and the televisionindustries, having worked withcompanies as Hercesa Interna-tional and Coldwell Banker.

WHO’S NEWSBR welcomes information for Who’s News. Submissions may be edited fo r length and clarity. Get in touch at [email protected]

April 2014, Number 2www.business-review.eu

The light of giving

PhilanthropyBusiness Review presents a list of charities for yourconsideration during this season of goodwill to all »page 32

InterviewSpanish dramatist Jose SanchisSinisterra tells BR about newthemes that are emerging withincontemporary theater»page 36

PremiereComic ballet The WaywardDaughter is the second premiereof the season at the BucharestNational Opera»page 40

www.business-review.eu December, 2014

Lifestyle

36 CHARITIES www.business-review.eu


‘Tis the season to be giving

Asociația Comunitară a Romilor dinCoastei (Community Association ofRoma from Coastei)Contact details: [email protected]: Cluj-Napoca, Cluj countyFurther details: A grassroots organi-zation from Pata Rat, Cluj-Napoca,that mobilizes the community to sup-port steps involving the national andlocal public authorities regarding theCoastei street evacuees and other in-dividuals and groups at risk of evic-tion and organizes activities forchildren and young people.

Agenția de Dezvoltare ComunitarăBuzau (Buzau Community Development Agency)Contact details: Ana Raducanu, [email protected]: Biscenii de Jos village,Buzau countyFurther details: A long-standing or-ganization that works with poor com-munities in Buzau county.

Asociatia Esperando (Esperando Association)Contact details: [email protected],www.esperando.roLocated: Baia Mare, MaramurescountyFurther details: The Esperando Asso-ciation works with people with dis-abilities and their families. It runs aday care center hosting physical ther-apy and education activities.

Asociatia SOS – Sprijin oricarui suflet,Aghiresu (SOS Association - Supportany Soul)Contact details: Maria Lacatus, [email protected]: Aghiresu, Cluj countyFurther details: An organization thathas worked with women and childrenin the Aghiresu area for five years.

Asociatia Sf Stelian (St. Stelian Association)Contact details: Steliana Stefan, [email protected]: BucharestFurther details: Beneficiaries are dif-ferent categories of vulnerable peopleand those in need. It has a social cen-ter and supports various poor families

Asociatia Stea (Stea Association)Contact details: Cristina-Maria Bala,[email protected]: Satu Mare, Satu Mare countyFurther details: The STEA Associationis a Romanian NGO that supports thesocial inclusion of vulnerable chil-

dren/young people/families (over 90percent of the beneficiaries of its so-cial services are Roma), in Satu Marecounty. It also works with homelesspeople and tries to integrate them onthe labor market.

Casa IoanaContact details: [email protected],www. casaioana.orgLocated: BucharestFurther details: Casa Ioana is a do-mestic abuse and family homeless-ness charity.Its integrated Acasa program meetsthe particular needs of families andindividuals over an extended period.It works with a broad network of bothpublic-sector agencies and other serv-ice providers to help women and chil-dren resolve all their problems andacquire the necessary skills and assis-tance they need to regain family sta-bility and affordable housing. Itaddresses the multiple underlying is-sues of domestic violence and familyhomelessness, rather than simply fo-cusing on providing short-term emer-gency shelter.

Centrul de Resurse Apollo (ApolloResources Centre)Contact details: Lucian Gaman, [email protected]: Ploiesti, Pravoha countyFurther details: This group hasworked for many years with poorcommunities in Prahova county.

Fundatia Sf. Dimitrie (St. DimitrieFoundation)Contact details: Elena Avramescu, [email protected]: BucharestFurther details: The foundation has asocial center for children and a pro-tected workshop where disabledyoung people can work.

Fundatia Inocenti. Romanian

Children’s ReliefContact details: Valentina Maghirescu,[email protected], inocenti.ro Located: Bucharest/ Bistrita/ ClujNapocaFurther details: The foundation pro-vides support to children in need andto their families. It offers activities tochildren aged up to 18; it supportsfamilies and caretakers in developingtheir parenting skills and works toprevent the abandonment of children; it offers educational activi-ties to improve social integration; itrecruits volunteers and gathers mate-rial resources for local partner hospi-tals.

Foundation TheranovaContact details: Jaco du Plessis, [email protected]: Oradea/BucharestFurther details: The charity providesprosthetics for amputees in desperateneed. It gives highly functional pros-theses to, in particular, children whocannot afford it, to help them achievein life with maximum mobility, with-out limitations. Theranova is alsocommitted to raising awarenessamong medical professionals and pol-icy makers to increase support foramputees from the Romanian gov-ernment and health insurance.

Impreuna pentru viitor (Together forthe Future)Contact details: Cristina Costea, [email protected]: Spantov village, CalarasicountyFurther details: A new organization,founded in 2012, that works to helpdevelop the Spantov locality, whichhas a high number of ethnic Romaresidents. Each year during theChristmas and Easter holidays, mem-bers of the association try to gathergoods and food for the poor familiesof Spantov.

Light into EuropeContact details: [email protected], www.lightintoeurope.orgLocated: Bucharest/ Essex, UK Further details: Light into Europe’smission is to develop the full poten-tial of Romanian sensory impairedchildren and young people to lead in-dependent lives by providing educa-tional support services to schools andfamilies with sensory impaired chil-dren from its resource center; devel-oping integrated early interventionand employment support programs;

being a catalyst for the social and pro-fessional inclusion of sensory im-paired people.

SoNoRo INTERFERENCESContact details: Maria-Clara Brumariu,[email protected],www.sonoro.ro Located: BucharestFurther details: The goal of the pro-gram is to broaden the cultural andmusical horizon of young music stu-dents and to help them develop theircreativity and professional skills atthe beginning of their career. Since itsestablishment it has awarded over200 scholarships. Many of the schol-arship winners have attained out-standing results studying inprestigious musical institutions inLondon, Berlin, Vienna, Zürich, Ham-burg, Bucharest and Vienna as well aswinning prizes at major internationalcompetitions.

The Little PeopleContact details: [email protected], www.thelittlepeople.roLocated: Bucharest/Timisoara/Iasi/Cluj Napoca/ Chisinau Further details: The mission of the or-ganization is to improve life qualityfor children and young people suffer-ing from cancer. It provides psycho-logical and social support services topatients, organizes events for cancer survivors, provides materialsupport for the dedicated hospitalsections and donates appropriateequipment.

Zambete pentru pici, pitici si piticotiContact details: Anca Zegrean andTeodora Motatu, [email protected]: BucharestFurther details: The charity’s maingoal is to aid orphans and children inextreme poverty by providing contri-butions in the form of clothes (new and second-hand), food sup-plies, toys, cleansing products and insome cases fire wood. It takes a par-ticular interest in talented and aca-demically gifted children, aiming toachieve both an immediate and lasting change in their lives, by pro-viding them with educational sup-plies and helping them to fulfill theirpotential. It has a partnership withSector 3 City Hall’s Child Protectiondivision, organizing charity cam-paigns for Christmas, Easter and Chil-dren’s Day.

[email protected]

With so many organizations to choose from, selecting a trustworthy and reliable charity for your special Christmas gift may seem overwhelming. BR outlines a selection of Christmas charity projects so you can tailoryour festive spirit to the ones with the most appeal.

38 INTERVIEWwww.business-review.eu


Spanish playwright: ‘There’s an infinity of urgent themes to be tackled by theater’

Let’s say, between parentheses, that myprofessional career has always beenlinked to literature, having taught liter-ature at the university. Literature is myland, my passion in life, and I couldn’tbear seeing the literary text assigned apurely subordinate role. So my researchwork and my creative work have beenwith literary material, not theatrical,simply in order to question the domi-nant theater. And in those years therewas a type of re-emergence of dramaticwriting, both in Spain and Latin Amer-ica and several European countries andI think now the text is no longer consid-ered as a secondary factor but has anequal position to innovation, experi-mentation and as a way to look at reality,as can be all the other languages of the-ater. So I’m relatively optimistic, andwithin this I would criticize the market,which is conditioning a certain type oftheatrical texts that are excessivelycomplacent. There’s a series of themesthat are not explored because they arenot believed to be attractive enough.

What themes?

I would say, for example, that in Spain,where we have a government that is lit-erally massacring culture with budgetcuts, of course theater companies tend

to perform a more entertaining type oftheater, a more comical one, withthemes of relationships, in general withmore visible themes because they canconnect with the public more easily. Ithink there’s an infinity of urgentthemes to be tackled by theater and thisis the central line of this project of theNuevo Teatro Fronterizo: to see what ismissing from Spanish theater, what arethe theme-related flaws but also the for-mal ones, related to the poetics of thetheater. And here we are doing a seriesof workshops, laboratories.

What is contemporary Spanish theater

like? Is there something specific about it?

I don’t like generalities. I would say thatit has a relative diversity, with absencesthat are, in between quotation marks,scandalous, themes that are not tackledbecause theater does not present them.It is interesting, nonetheless, that overthe past three-four years a theater thatis very connected with the immediatereality is emerging. It is bringing type ofthemes that are well connected withpeople’s preoccupations.

What are the new themes and instru-

ments of the theater?

This depends a lot on individual choices.

I would say that when I decided to openthe space in Madrid, without any offi-cial help, I drew a series of lines of workthat seemed to me were missing. Forinstance the theme of the woman. Thewoman, despite having conquered acertain position in certain sectors at theend of 20th century, has been com-pletely forgotten in others, not to men-tion women’s own families. And so Ideveloped various project that dealwith the visibility of women. In Spain,in the first third of the century therewere many women who, within a tradi-tional, catholic, patriarchal societywere trying to make it in the world ofsciences. We’ve done some researchand selected five women from the firsthalf of the century and made it into atext.

Another theme is immigration. Ofcourse, in the 90s, the theme of immi-gration began to be more visible. Manyyoung authors wrote on this theme, butit was a theme of denunciation, of thetragedy of the African without legal pa-pers crossing the border. Now thetheme of immigration is much morecomplex because there are thousandsof immigrants wanting to be Spanish.We selected four immigrants, one from Senegal, one from Columbia, onefrom Bangladesh and one from Mo-rocco. To each one we assigned an au-thor who had trained with me. Theywere together for several days, record-ing their experience, they told their sto-ries of crossing many countries manytimes, of being rejected by society.Then there is a show with Spanish ac-tors performing, under a Spaniard’s di-rection. When the show ends, theimmigrant subject, the director and theauthor emerge and a debate starts withthe public. It’s been very interesting be-cause people have told me that theynever thought of this mass of immi-grants as individuals.

Another theme is the relationshipbetween theater and science. Theworld is in the hands of science. Andwe believe this calls for some reflection.We formed a group of scientists andyoung playwrights and from here a textwhich is not science-fiction but whichraises scientific questions emerged.

Also, in Spain I would be able toname one, maybe two authors writinga theater of ideas, which makes one re-flect on issues. Another flaw is thatLatin American theater is practicallyunknown.

[email protected]

∫ OTILIA HARAGA

What are you working on right now?

My main activity is centered around asmall space; it’s not a theater hall, it is atheater space where we hold workshops,do research, debate and stage drama-tized readings. We have been develop-ing it for the past four years since theNuevo Teatro Fronterizo (the NewFrontier Theater) opened in La Corsete-ria. We try to support and form newplaywrights, do research on the rela-tionship between the theater and philosophy, the sciences, the represen-tation of women in various contexts.We also have activities with the immi-grants in our neighborhood because theplace is located in Madrid’s Lavapiesneighborhood, which is a completelymulticultural neighborhood.

Writing wise, what are your newest proj-

ects?

This year, in 2014, I have written twonew texts. One is called Bartolome En-cadenado (Chained Bartholomew). Itpremiered in Barcelona this July. It is atragedy; it has the structure of the Greektragedy and a contemporary politicaltheme. It was inspired by the tragedy ofthe Greek pensioner who committedsuicide in Syntagma Square in Athens.This was a piece I had to write but it in-terested me a lot. And last week was thepremiere of a very heterodox versionthat I did of Richard III by Shakespeare.

What’s your view of contemporary the-

ater?

I started at the end of the 50s, in the uni-versity theater in Valencia. I had alwayswritten but as a regular activity of writ-ing and stage works and forming actorsI started in the 70s, during my time inBarcelona. I was witness to a very inter-esting renaissance of dramatic writing,of the dramatic text, of the literary di-mension of theater which right in the60s and 70s saw a moment of collectivecreation: the theater of the body, the be-ginning of the use of non-verbal audio-visual languages. In that effervescence,the text was considered a type of the-atrical anachronism because theaterwas thought to be what was being cre-ated on stage, the body, the actors, thedirectors, the public space. And then Istarted a systematic work, a bit stub-bornly to recover theater’s literary textthat is not in contradiction with thespectacular component or with the par-ticipation of the bodies of the actors.

In Bucharest last month to stage the play We Were Three Sisters, based on Chekov, prolific Spanish dramatistJose Sanchis Sinisterra told BR that a series of themes such as the visibility of women, immigration and the re-lationship between theater and science are not yet explored enough.

Photo: Vivi P

orras/Cervantes Institute

39www.business-review.euBusiness Review | December, 2014

40 FESTIVALwww.business-review.eu


Putting Romania on the map:cultural festivals

∫ OANA VASILIU

Lights, camera, action: filmCluj-Napoca was the talk of the culturalworld from May 30 to June 8, duringwhich the Transilvania InternationalFilm Festival (TIFF) screened over 217movies from 55 countries, comple-mented by countless related eventssuch as exhibitions, concerts, masterclasses, debates and parties. The 13thrun of the event attracted over 160,000cinephiles and 1,000 special guests,with 63,000 tickets sold for variousevents. Director Tudor Giurgiu, also di-rector of the festival, used the event tolaunch his campaign to save Romania’ssilver screens and revive the once-lovedlocal pastime of going to the cinema.Statistics presented by Giurgiu showthat currently just 25 movie theaters outof 30 are still active in the state-ownedRomania Film network, including onlysix modernized halls with digital equip-ment. Last year, 450 movies werescreened in Romania, of which 198 werepremieres. In terms of admissions,ranked by the origin of first-release fea-ture films, 250,000 people watched Ro-manian-made films in 2013, 100,000movie goers selected European produc-tions, whereas almost 8 million peopleviewed American movies.

In October, Cluj-Napoca was again inthe spotlight, during the Cluj Interna-

tional Comedy Festival. The event in-volved 147 film projections in nine dif-ferent locations, the screening of 192movies from 38 countries across fourcontinents and over 100 special guestswho entertained the public for ten days,as well as jazz concerts, theater, danceand parties, all put together by over 200organizers, both festival employees andvolunteers.The capital, Bucharest, sees almostweekly film events under various festi-val umbrellas. One of the most hotly an-ticipated film festivals was Les Films deCannes a Bucarest. Screenings sold outand new projections were arranged toallow local fans to see on the silverscreen what the Cannes jury awarded in2014. Over 14,000 viewers watched the30 movies brought to Romania by direc-tor Cristian Mungiu.

A record number of animated filmswere submitted for the ninth edition ofthe Anim’est festival – over 1,260 shortand feature-length movies – of which400 productions from over 60 countriesmade the cut and were shown inBucharest. Competitions, retrospec-tives, Q&As, workshops, events andparties were held for fans of the genre.

Some 120 films from 40 countrieswere screened during the 20th run ofthe most important documentary festi-val in Romania, Astra Film Festival,which is held in Sibiu. This year in-cluded four competition sections: inter-

national, featuring works from Freder-ick Wiseman, Michel Gondry and Cor-neliu Porumboiu; Central and EasternEurope, tackling subjects that definethe region’s identity and portray reali-ties unknown even to neighboringcountries; student, featuring produc-tions by young directors from the uni-versity centers of Geneva, Manchester,London, Munich, Budapest, Bucharestand San Antonio de los Baños (Cuba);and Romania, showcasing local films.

All the world’s a stage: theaterThe third most important theater festi-val in Europe (after Edinburgh and Avi-gnon) is held in Sibiu. The 21st editionof the Sibiu International Theatre Festi-val took place in June, with 20,000 tick-ets selling out far in advance. The eventgathered participants from 70 countriesand presented 350 shows in 66 venuesto over 62,000 daily spectators.

Bucharest International Street The-atre Festival is now a much looked for-ward to fixture on the capital’s calendarthanks to the colorful characters en-livening unconventional spaces aroundtown. Performances by the Shake-speare’s Globe troupe are always a high-light.

The sounds and the echoes:musicFor 18 years now, international jazz

music has emanated from the Roman-ian mountains, via the small village ofGarana in Poiana Lupului, Caras Severincounty, courtesy of Garana Interna-tional Jazz Festival. Considered a con-temporary Woodstock, the festivalunfolds in the heart of the WesternCarpathians. Having developed overthe decades into an international artistsettlement, Garana (50 km by car fromTimisoara airport or 20 minutes fromResita train station) hosts Europe’s onlyopen-air jazz festival, which commonlysees local hotels fully booked.

The 14th George Enescu Interna-tional Competition, the only classicalmusic competition organized by Roma-nia to attain recognition within the in-ternational musical world, took placethis year. It had four sections: violin,cello, piano and composition, and morethan 230 young artists from 36 countriesapplied. Romania fielded ten partici-pants in the violin contest, 14 pianistsand two cellists. Audiences enjoyed freeadmission to concerts and recitals whilethe public could watch digital livescreening in George Enescu Square.

RadiRo – Radio Orchestras Interna-tional Festival took place at the end ofSeptember. A unique event in Europe, itbrought to Bucharest five radio orches-tras, along with internationallyrenowned soloists and conductors.

[email protected]

For several years now, Romania has been a cultural hotspot for the performing arts, film, theatre and music.Looking back over the cultural calendar of 2014, BR highlights the top festivals held around the country.

Cluj-Napoca is the location of the Transilvania International Film Festival and more recently of a comedy festival

EVENTS 41www.business-review.euBusiness Review | December, 2014

∫ OANA VASILIU

Comic ballet La fille mal gardée (TheWayward Daughter) is the second pre-miere of the season at the BucharestNational Opera House. Local balletaficionados will be treated to a turnby Johan Kobborg, artistic director ofthe Ballet Company, in a travesti role,that of Widow Simone. The staging isthe work of Swedish ballet masterMalin Thoors and Danish choreogra-pher and former first ballet dancerKobborg.

“This is a show that I have stagedmany times before over many years, aballet which I love, and I wanted tostage it in Romania to highlight the qualities of the dancers before thepublic,” said Kobborg. “La fille mal

gardée is one of those performanceswhere the public leaves with bigsmiles on their faces, a quality that not all ballets have. Although weare talking about a comic ballet, the audience doesn’t always smile,which is why this production hassomething for every viewer. It’s afamily show, especially for the younggenerations.”

La fille mal gardée is one of themost acclaimed works of Britishdancer and choreographer FrederickAshton, inspired by his love of thecountryside in Suffolk, Great Britain.The ballet, which is in two acts andthree scenes, is based on the 1789painting of the same name by JeanBercher Dauberval.

[email protected]

Premiere: La fille mal gardée

Painter Adrian Ghenienamed world’s bestselling young artist ∫ OANA VASILIU

International art portalwww.artnet.com has named Roman-ian painter Adrian Ghenie as the best-selling young contemporary artist inthe world this year, topping a list of 50. According to the source, the art platform examined more than18,000 living artists whose workshave been put up for sale by auctionhouses in 2014, using as criteria the maximum difference in US dollarsbetween a single lot’s high estimateand the sale price at auction and theaverage spread by this measure whenall of the artist’s lots are taken as agroup.

Ghenie came first on both criteria.He achieved the maximum differencebetween the estimated price and thesale price for one painting, of USD1.84 million, as well as the highest av-erage difference for all his auctionedwork in 2014, of USD 301,000, withten paintings sold this year.

Ghenie’s highest valued paintingwas The Fake Rothko, which sold forGBP 1.42 million at an auction organ-ised by Sotheby’s in London, in Julythis year. The painting had an esti-

mated price of USD 600,000. Further-more, at the same auction house, hesold three paintings for a total of GBP1.2 million in October. His artworkDuchamp’s Funeral I went for justover GBP 1 million, double the pre-auction evaluation.

In the latest report published byArtmark auction house in 2013, Ghe-nie is also the top Romanian artistpresented in international auctionhouses, as his The King was sold bySotheby’s in 2013 for EUR 212,000. Hewas also found to be the top Roman-ian artist for auctioned volume in in-ternational and national auctionsover 2011-2013, with a total value ofEUR 578,000.

Ghenie’s multilayered images reference a number of sources such asnews, media, classic films and social media sites, often depicting figures that appear gnawed and slashed, blurred and speckled,explains www.artnet.com. His work has been widely exhibited, in-cluding at Tate Liverpool, the SanFrancisco Museum of Modern Art andFondazione Palazzo Strozzi in Flo-rence.

[email protected]

42 CALENDARwww.business-review.eu


January

Concert Thomas Anders

January 24, Sala Palatului

The former Modern Talking memberwill perform for a local audience hitssuch as You’re my Heart, You’re mySoul, Cheri, Cheri Lady, Sexy SexyLover, You are not Alone, No face, noName, no Number, Brother Louie andmany others. During his time withModern Talking, he enjoyed countlessglobal chart successes; Anders is sub-sequently one of the few German starswho can be said to have made both anational and international impact onthe music scene. Tickets cost fromRON 100 to RON 300 and can bebought from the Eventim network.

Cirque du Soleil – Quidam

January 29 – February 1, Romexpo

Since its world premiere in Montrealin April 1996, the Quidam show hasbeen seen by millions of people. It fea-tures over 45 top artists, acrobats, mu-sicians, singers and actors. Cirque duSoleil says of the show, “Quidam: anameless passer-by, a solitary figurelingering on a street corner, a personrushing past and swallowed by thecrowd. It could be anyone, anybody.Someone coming or going at the heartof our anonymous society. A memberof the crowd, one of the silent major-ity.”

Tickets are available fromwww.evenim.ro and in Orange stores,with prices from RON 150 to RON 500.

February

Opera premiere Falstaf

February 19, Bucharest National

Opera

Giuseppe Verdi’s last opera returns tothe Bucharest National Opera Houseafter many years of absence from itsrepertoire. The director is GrahamVick, known for his original and ex-perimental stage productions. Anyonecurious about the style the Britonmight bring to his local production canrefer to the 1999 Falstaff he staged atthe Royal Opera House Covent Garden,which drew inspiration from the paint-ings of Renaissance artist PieterBruegel, resulting in a mix ofgrotesque expression, balanced com-positions and elementary colors. Thethree-act opera, which has a librettoby Arrigo Boito and is inspired byWilliam Shakespeare’s plays, will beperformed in Italian and subtitled inRomanian.

March

One World Romania

One World Romania, Bucharest’s onlydocumentary festival and the only onededicated to human rights in Romania,

is now on its seventh run. Famed fortackling tough subjects, from Putin’sRussia to the legacy of Communism,the event grew out of One World inPrague, and was first organized by theCzech Centre Bucharest. Gradually theselection and organization became au-tonomous, and in 2009, the organizersof the festival started the One WorldRomania Association.

Jazz Night Out – Kurt Elling Passion

World

March 5, Radio Hall

For the first time in Romania, Ameri-can jazzman Kurt Elling will presenthis Passion World project. Pianist GaryVersace, guitarist John McLean, bassplayer Clark Sommers and drummerBryan Carter will join the Grammyaward winner on stage.

Tickets cost from RON 85 to RON145 and are available from the Even-tim network.

Richard Clayderman – From Paris

with Love

March 26, Sala Palatului

Richard Clayderman returns to Romania for the fourth time with aworld premiere: From Paris with Love. The iconic pianist will play some of his most famous works fortwo hours. Ballet and orchestral com-pany Royal Camerata will accompanyhim.

Tickets, which cost from RON 95 toRON 400, are available from the Even-tim network.

Marc Anthony

March 31, Sala Palatului

The wait is over for Marc Anthony fanswho were disappointed when thesinger cancelled a Bucharest showscheduled for last May in response tothe Ukraine crisis. The American willperform hits such as No Me Ames, INeed to Know, You Sang to Me, RainOver Me and Tragedy on this, his worldtour, Vivir Mi Vida. Anthony, formerlyMr. Jennifer Lopez, will also showcasehis latest album, 3.0.

Tickets cost from RON 220 to RON870 and are available from the Even-tim network.

Cultural calendar 2015

CALENDAR 43www.business-review.euBusiness Review | December, 2014

April

Next Film Festival

Up to 30 short and medium-lengthfilms made by young and talentedmovie directors and sound designersfrom around the world will competeat the NexT awards. The event alsoserves as a meeting place for thosewho express themselves through filmand love the medium.

Ballet triptych comprised of

Classical Symphony, Pettite Mort

and Marguerite and Armand

April 25, Bucharest National Opera

The Bucharest National Opera Housepremieres the choreography of someof the most popular artists of our time.One performance brings together thework of Yuri Possokhov, Jiří Kylián andSir Frederick Ashton, the promotersof a style that combines contemporaryand academic dance, tapping into uni-versal themes and elements of ballet.The three compositions represent dif-ferent approaches to the subject oflove.

May

Roxette

May 17, Arenele Romane

Because it must have been love, Rox-

ette are returning to Romania. In anearly 25-year career, the Swedishpop duo has sold 75 million albumsspawning over 30 hits. Top tunes in-clude The Look, Listen to Your Heart,Dangerous, It Must Have Been Loveand Joyride.

Tickets are priced between RON145 to RON 295 and can be boughtfrom www.myticket.ro.

Opera premiere: Manon Lescaut

May 23, Bucharest National Opera

Director Jonathan Kent and set de-signer Paul Brown have transposedthe Abbé Prévost story – the sourcematerial for the opera’s libretto – tothe licentious modern world. This newproduction, which premiered in 2014at Covent Garden, in London, takes a

fresh approach to the character ofManon, who falls victim to the con-sumerism and media obsession of to-day’s world.

Transylvania International

Film Festival

May 29 – June 7, Cluj-Napoca,

several venues

Founded in 2002, TIFF has grown rap-idly to become the biggest film-relatedevent in Romania and a major regionalcultural landmark. The festival pres-ents innovative and striking films witha focus on originality, independenceof expression and trends in youth cul-ture. TIFF is part of the line-up thatmakes the vibrant city of Cluj-Napocaa perfect candidate for European Cul-tural Capital 2021. Submissions forTIFF 2015 are now open.

June

One Republic

June 4, Arenele Romane

One of the most successful alternativerock bands in recent years, One Re-public is coming to Romania for thefirst time. Singer/songwriter RyanTedder and his bandmates will per-form here as part of their tour to pro-mote the US group’s latest album, Na-

tive, which includes singles CountingStars, Feel Again and I Lived. The setlist will likely include hits from previ-ous albums such as Apologize, Stopand Stare, Secrets, Good Life andMarching on.

Tickets are available on myticket.roand range from RON 120 to RON 235.

Ballet premiere: Giselle

June 6, Bucharest National Opera

During the 2014-2015 season, theBucharest National Opera will show-case a new staging of this romanticballet, created by choreographers Jo-han Kobborg, artistic director of theRomanian National Ballet, and EthanStiefel. The version was largely ac-claimed on its premiere, in NewZealand in 2012, when it was per-

formed by the Royal New Zealand Bal-let.

Sibiu International Theatre Festival

June 12 – 21, Sibiu, several venues

Now on its 22nd run, the event – thebiggest annual festival of performingarts in Romania – is a platform for thedebating of ideas and the cultures ofthe participating countries. The ten-day festival typically sees participantsfrom around 70 countries stagingsome 300 events. The European Com-mission has declared it “the third mostimportant performing arts festival”,after long established events in Edin-burgh and Avignon. Submissions haveclosed, but no information about the2015 lineup had been made public bythe time BR went to press.Tickets are on sale from the TheatreAgency in Sibiu, the national networksof Domo, Germanos, Orange andVodafone stores, Humanitas and Căr-tureşti bookshops and online atwww.eventim.ro.

September

George Enescu International Festi-

val

August 30 - September 20, Palace

Grand Hall, Romanian Atheneum

Over 2,500 foreign artists and 500 na-tional musicians are expected to takepart in 58 concerts during the 2015George Enescu Festival. The BerlinPhilharmonic Orchestra will come to

the festival and to Romania for the firsttime, after 15 years of negotiations, ac-companied by the conductor Sir SimonRattle.

The London Philharmonic Orches-tra, Vienna Philharmonic, Royal Con-certgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam,San Francisco Symphony, MunichOpera Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dres-den, Sankt Petersburg Orchestra, Vi-enna Philharmonic, BayerischeStaatoper, Royal Liverpool SymphonyOrchestra and Monte Carlo Philhar-monic will all perform, along with thelocal National Youth Orchestra,George Enescu Choir and OrchestraPhilharmonic, Radio Hall National Or-chestra and Radio Academic Choir.

Soloists include: conductors Crist-ian Mandeal and Horia Andreescu,Dan Grigore, Ruxandra Donose,Valentina Nafornita, Alexandra Dari-escu, Arcadi Volodos, Anne SophieMutter, Fazil Say, Murray Perahia,Yfrem Bronfman, Andras Schiff, PierreLaurent Aimard, Maria Joao Pires, Re-naud and Gautier Capucon, DavidGarett, as well as garlanded musi-cians from the Enescu Competition,Alexandru Tomescu, Valery Sokolov,Stefan Tarara, Vlad Stanculeasca andElisabeth Leonskaja. The full program

of the festival can be found here.The Romanian Ministry of Culture

will contribute RON 28 million to thebudget, with another RON 7 millioncoming from private sponsors.

44 FILMwww.business-review.eu


Big box office: the ten highest-grossinglocal movies this yearFrom Hollywood style comedies to black-and-white dissections of Communism, the 14 Romanian productionsand co-productions that made it to the national silver screen this year were a mixed bag. But which got the mostbums on seats? BR brings you the lowdown on the ten highest-grossing Romanian films this year.

∫ OANA VASILIU

#SelfiePremiered: 09.05.2014Weeks on screen: 24Viewers: 101.726Box office: RON 1.145.987,00 Director: Cristina IacobStarring: Olimpia Melinte, VladLogigan, Levent Sali, Flavia Hojda,Crina Semciuc, Alexandru Calin

Synopsis: Instead of staying homeand revising for their finals, three stu-dents – Roxi, Ana and Yasmine – headto the seaside for one last recklesshurrah before their big exams.They’re looking for love, excitementand adventure – but will the boys theyencounter be able to provide it?

Cuscrii /The In-LawsPremiered: 24.10.2014Weeks on screen: 6Viewers: 23.305Box office: RON 426.273,00 Director: Radu PotcoavaStarring: Paul Ipate, Ioana Blaj,Mircea Diaconu, Luminita Gheorghiu,Marian Ralea

Closer tothe MoonPremiered: 07.03.2014Weeks on screen: 23Viewers: 20.135Box office: RON 368.332,98 Director: Nae CaranfilStarring: Vera Farmiga, Mark Strong, Tim Plester

Synopsis: The film is the true accountof a group of high-ranking Jewishmembers of the nomenclature, who,in 1959, staged what was to becomeknown as the coup of the century:they robbed Romania’s National Bank,making it look like a film shoot. Andthis is only the beginning. Once ar-rested and prosecuted, they wereforced to reenact their parts in theheist for a propaganda movie. Despiteits tragic aspect, this incredible story,long shrouded in mystery, gets an un-expectedly light treatment.

Synopsis: Romania’s answer to Meetthe Parents brings a local twist: a de-nouement that plays on the 1989 Revolution. Ionut and Mariana are engaged, and bringing their future in-laws together for the first time. Asusual, things do not go smoothly. His low-key parents are intimidatedby her folks’ greater wealth and os-tentatious “McMansion”, his fatherlays into the brandy and her sistersare seething with their own dysfunc-tion. Then history begins to reveal itself…

FILM 45www.business-review.euBusiness Review | December, 2014

KyraKyralina

Premiered: 05.09.2014Weeks on screen: 9Viewers: 6.447Box office: RON 64.155,93 Director: Dan PitaStarring: Iulia Dumitru, Stefan Iancu,Corneliu Ulici, Iulia Cirstea

Synopsis: This baroque productionreconstructs the life of a dysfunc-tional 1920s family, with impressiveinteriors, costumes (Oana Paunescu)and music (Adrian Enescu). Basedloosely on the plot of the homony-mous book by Panait Istrati, it ispitched as a set of interlocking narra-tives concerning a young gay man inthe latter years of the Ottoman Empire, a time that was somewhatmore liberal sexually. But the movieis really a family story seen throughthe eyes of the young man, focusingon two female characters. It concen-trates on the search for love and hap-piness in a world of fear, revenge andexcess.

Premiered: 22.08.2014Weeks on screen: 8Viewers: 1.789Box office: RON 7.995,69 Directors: Roxana Andrei, Mihai Min-can, Constantin Radu Vasile, AndreiGeorgescu, Florin BabeiStarring: Ada Gales, Catalin Jugravu,Andrei Ion

Synopsis: The titles of the five shortsare well-known Bucharest neighbor-hoods, and each work starts with im-ages from the respective areas of thecity.

Premiered: 28.11.2014Weeks on screen: 1Viewers: 1.889Box office: RON 6.407,09 Directors: Luiza Parvu, Radu Jude,Andrei Cretulescu, Iulia RuginaStarring: Ada Gales, Catalin Jugravu,Andrei Ion

Synopsis: Gangsters, drinking, death,power ballads, witchy neighbors,screaming neighbors, neighbors im-personating rabbits, and transatlantictreks – it’s all there in this new batchof Romanian shorts.

Premiered: 13.06.2014Weeks on screen: 6Viewers: 3.643Box office: RON 11.922,21 Director: Vlad Petri

Synopsis: Over 23 years since the Ro-manian Revolution, the people wereback on the streets of Bucharest, re-claiming the public space and fightingto change the political system. Direc-tor Vlad Petri followed their stories fora year, from the first days of theprotests to the referendum to remove

the president, crafting them into adocumentary about the people trans-forming a revolution into a travesty.

America, venim / America, Here We ComePremiered: 19.09.2014Weeks on screen: 8Viewers: 28.081Box office: RON 327.269,26 Director: Razvan SavescuStarring: Mihai Calin, Gheorghe Ifrim,Adrian Vancica, Mira Furlan

Synopsis: Five actors, a director and asmall child with a huge teddy bear arecrossing the ocean from Targoviste toperform in New York. To make someextra money, the actors decide tostart working with a local agent, a Ro-manian living in the US. The agentpromises them a major tour, butnothing goes according to plan…

Q.E.D.Premiered: 10.10.2014Weeks on screen: 5Viewers: 4.778Box office: RON 34.119,09 Director: Andrei GruzsniczkiStarring: Ofelia Popii, Sorin Leoveanu,Florin Piersic Jr.

Synopsis: This black-and-whitemovie focuses on a mathematician’sdecision to publish a paper in a magazine edited by an American university without asking permissionfrom the communist authorities. This action triggers a chain of events that will change the lives of his friends.

Bucuresti, unde esti? /Bucharest, Where are You?

Scurt / 4: Istorii de inimaneagra / Black Heart Tales

Love bus: cinci povesti dedragoste din Bucuresti /Love bus: Five Love Storiesfrom Bucharest

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46 FILMwww.business-review.eu


DEBBIE STOWE

Director: Paul KingStarring: Hugh Bonneville, SallyHawkins, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent,Peter Capaldi, Nicole Kidman, BenWhishawOn at: Grand Cinema & More, Holly-wood Multiplex, Movieplex CinemaPlaza, Cine Grand Titan, Cinema CityCotroceni, Cinema City Sun Plaza, TheLight Cinema, Glendale Studio, CaffeCinema 3D Patria, Patria

Films based on popular children’sbooks can be a license to print money:see Harry Potter, Twilight, HungerGames, etc. But Paddington is a dif-ferent kettle of fish (or jar of mar-malade for the initiated): while thebear – who appeared in stories byEnglish author Michael Bond in the1960s and 1970s – is much loved in theUK, he doesn’t enjoy the globalrenown of, say, a Harry Potter.

On top of this, a misconceivedadaptation risks alienating the adultswho take their kids, many of whomfondly (and protectively) recallPaddington tales from their child-hood.

Happily, the movie has avoidedthese pitfalls: it’s a lovely story, brim-ming with wit and warmth, faithfulenough to the source material toplease fans, but fully accessible toanyone encountering the furry herofor the first time.

When circumstances force him toleave his native Peru, young Padding-ton (perfectly voiced by BenWhishaw) embarks upon a journey toLondon, following up on a long-standing invitation. Unable immedi-ately to find his contact, the bear

makes a temporary home with theupper middle-class Brown family. Al-though stern patriarch Mr. Brown(Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville),a stuffy risk analyst, has misgivingsabout housing a wild animal in thefamily home, Mrs. Brown (SallyHawkins) prevails upon him to letPaddington stay for a while – she’s achildren’s book illustrator so we knowshe’s got soul.

Fans of UK children’s films will recognize the template of a quirkyoutsider helping an austere

London financial professional tobond with his family from Mary Poppins. And Paddington does not suffer from comparison with thatenduring classic: this is a truly delightful film that appeals on multi-ple levels.

Children will love the slapstickcomedy that ensues when our haplesshero attempts to master the intrica-cies of urban plumbing, or negotiateLondon streets and public transport.There are witty sight gags (includingsome wry wordplay on the side of a

van) and a disguise that verges on therisqué.

But the biggest laughs of an excel-lent script are reserved for the grown-ups. Observational humor aboutparenthood, jokes about insuranceand insider trading and a nicely nailed skit on London cabbies – all ofthis will go flying over young heads straight to the adults in the au-dience.

On the more serious side, themovie sends a heartwarming messageabout individuality, kindness, acceptance and belonging. It’s also a huge advert for London. But any moralizing or marketing is done with such charm that you’llforgive it.

The cast is superb, from Bon-neville and Hawkins as the Browns,and the ever fabulous Julie Walters astheir housekeeper Mrs. Bird, to NicoleKidman and current Doctor WhoPeter Capaldi as the schemers provid-ing the peril. Old guard British A-lis-ters Jim Broadbent, Michael Gambonand Imelda Staunton (it could be aHarry Potter reunion) provide solidsupport.

Whether you’re a cub or an old grizzly, a Paddington aficionadoor entirely new to the ursine adven-turer, this is an irresistible gem of a movie, a piece of bear-faced bril-liance.

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Bear necessities: Sally Hawkins and Jim Broadbent take afternoon tea

FILM REVIEW

Paddington

Book value: Paddington appeared in children’s stories from 1958

business review issue 35, december - january

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