Romanian Entrepreneur Diaconescu Wins Oltchim Stake Auction

Romanian media entrepreneur Dan Diaconescu won a bidding contest for a majority stake in Oltchim SA today, as the country seeks to meet pledges to international lenders by the end of this month.

Diaconescu, 44, a politician who owns broadcaster OTV, will pay about 203 million lei ($59 million) for the government’s 54.8 percent stake in the chemical company, Remus Vulpescu, who heads the Economy Ministry’s state-asset sales agency, told reporters in Bucharest today. The other bidders were Germany’s PCC SE, a minority shareholder in Oltchim and Romanian companies Aisa Invest SA and Chimcomplex SA.