THE PROPRIETATEA FUND A "scam" against the Russians

Franklin Templeton, which nobody knows if is still the manager of the Proprietatea Fund (FP) or not, has moved on to radical actions, of selling the shares which the Proprietatea Fund owns in thirteen companies in the energy sector.

Franklin Templeton is essentially liquidating the portfolio of the Proprietatea Fund, meaning that at the end of its tribulations with the legal courts, it won't have anything left to manage, regardless of whether it will be validated as the manager of the Fund or not.

The Proprietatea Fund has constantly been surrounded by controversy and scandals since its inception.

Today, its dumbed down story would sound somewhat like this: some politicians of the National Liberal Party appointed a mediocre journalist as Finance Minister. He then created a dubious structure which was allegedly "a compensation mechanism" for the former asset owners whose assets were seized by the Communist regime and he became the head of said shady company for a really hefty monthly salary; he then handed over the management of the scam to a has-been legend of the American stock market, which is selling our energy companies just when the market is at its worst.

We would have been better off giving them all to the Russians.

At least we would have gained a friend.

Yesterday, Franklin Templeton announced that following a selection process initiated in November 2011, it has appointed Citigroup Global Markets Limited to be the exclusive intermediary for facilitating one or several of the possible trades which concern the interests of the Proprietatea Fund in the sale, transfer or other form of transfer of several unlisted gas and electricity distribution companies.

The total value of these stakes is 527.6 million Euros, or approximately 15% of the NAV, according to the most recent value of the NAV of the Proprietatea Fund, calculated on January 31st, 2012.

Greg Konieczny, Fund Manager of the Proprietatea Fund, said: "The mandate which we have granted Citigroup aligns with one of our key goals, namely to reduce the weight of unlisted companies in the portfolio of the Proprietatea Fund. Through this measure, we hope to create added value for our shareholders. We believe that the network of contacts which Citigroup has in the industry and its consulting expertise in this kind of transactions will help us ensure that, if any transactions occur they will include the best terms for the Fund".