Franklin Templeton announces withdrawal from the selection process for the appointment of the Alternative Investment Fund Manager and Sole Director of Fondul Proprietatea
Franklin Templeton International Services S.À R.L., in its capacity as Alternative Investment Fund Manager and Sole Director of Fondul Proprietatea SA, acting through its Bucharest Branch, announces that, following a thorough review of the scoring and assessment applied to its offer in the selection process, FTIS has identified significant aspects on which its views materially differ from the evaluation of the Board of Nominees.
FTIS requested the Board of Nominees to provide clarifications and additional details regarding the applied scoring grid and assessment methodology and has not received such clarifications. Having carefully considered the results of the selection process so far and all relevant aspects, FTIS has decided to withdraw its candidacy and cease its participation in the selection process for the appointment of a new AIFM and Sole Director of Fondul Proprietatea for a four-year mandate.
Franklin Templeton remains fully committed to managing the Fund and acting in the best interests of shareholders until the expiry of its mandate on 1 April 2027 and will fully support the handover to the new AIFM and Sole Director of the Fund.
Throughout Franklin Templeton’s 16 years of managing Fondul Proprietatea, the Fund has played an important role in advancing corporate governance standards in Romania, consistently advocating for greater transparency and accountability and for the protection of minority shareholder rights, particularly within state-owned enterprises. This sustained engagement has helped drive positive changes across portfolio companies and contributed to significant value creation for the Fund’s shareholders and the broader shareholder base of those companies.
Daniel Naftali, Portfolio Manager of Fondul Proprietatea, said: “Fondul Proprietatea was set up with a unique purpose of compensating individuals and entities who had their property confiscated during the Communist regime. Our team at Franklin Templeton is proud to have honored the restitution effort by delivering very strong performance throughout our tenure as Fund Manager. Our achievements reflect the deep expertise, commitment and perseverance of our Bucharest team, whose work has helped develop the Romanian capital market and change the perception of Romania within the international investment community. Although Franklin Templeton has decided to withdraw from the current selection process, we remain fully committed to fulfilling all our Fund management responsibilities with the same diligence and professionalism through the conclusion of our mandate.”
Călin Meteș, Portfolio Manager of Fondul Proprietatea, stated: “During our 16 years of managing Fondul Proprietatea, our Bucharest based team supported by the wider Franklin Templeton organisation transformed the Fund into a benchmark for professional asset management and corporate governance in Romania. Through active engagement, disciplined capital allocation, and landmark transactions, we have consistently pursued one objective: delivering sustainable value to the Fund’s shareholders, while supporting the development of the local capital market. We are proud of what we managed to accomplish in and for Romania.”
