The first corporate bond issue of Autonom Services, the most important independent player in Romania's operating leasing and rent-a-car markets, was admitted to trading starting on December 4, on the regulated market managed by the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB).
The bond issue is worth a total of 20 million euros and was oversubscribed; the subscribers include the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), investment funds, banks, insurance companies, as well as individuals, said Autonom Group co-shareholder and founder Marius Stefan.
"Autonom's success is based on the broad client base and the constant evolution of our employees. Profitability, business growth and financial stability are the natural results of respect to these two key values," Stefan told a conference organized at the beginning of the BVB trading session on Wednesday.
EBRD has invested 4.5 million euros in these bonds, Autonom being the only company in Romania selected by the bank under the Blue Ribbon program.
"The cooperation between EBRD and Autonom dates back to 2015, when we provided consulting services to what was at that time a much smaller, but ambitious car rental company. With support from EBRD, Autonom has expanded to Hungary and Serbia. Two years later, encouraged by the company's growth and its transformation into a top mobility provider, EBRD provided a 5 million euro credit facility," said Mihaela Mihailescu, EBRD senior banker.
Autonom is a company with one hundred percent Romanian capital, set up in 2006 in Piatra Neamt. It currently has 382 employees and 44 agencies in 33 cities in Romania, Hungary and Serbia.
The company owns a fleet of 8,979 vehicles.