After more than a year of negotiations, interruptions, speculation, and conflicting valuations, Romgaz has signed the contract for the acquisition of the Azomureș platform, Romania’s largest chemical fertilizer producer. The total value of the transaction is €69 million, and its structure almost entirely confirms the information published by Agroinvestigații back in January, at a time when most of the media and market participants were discussing significantly higher valuations.
The official announcement was made by Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, who stated that the transaction had been approved by Romgaz’s Board of Directors and that only a few final approvals are still required before the acquisition can be completed.
“Today, the contract for the acquisition of Azomureș was signed and the transaction was approved by the Romgaz Board of Directors. Romgaz acquired the Azomureș platform for €69 million, of which slightly more than €46 million represents the value of the plant itself, up to €10 million represents raw materials and consumable inventories, and a maximum of €13 million represents the costs required to keep the plant operational and pay employees during the next two months until the effective takeover.”
In practice, the actual value assigned to the fertilizer plant is approximately €46 million, while the remaining amount consists of inventories and operational costs necessary for the transfer of activities.
The transaction confirms Agroinvestigații’s valuation
In January 2026, Agroinvestigații.ro published information obtained from within the negotiations indicating that Romgaz’s indicative valuation for Azomureș ranged between €60 million and €80 million. At the time, this information contrasted sharply with the scenarios being discussed publicly.
Several economic publications and market sources were referring to expectations from the Swiss shareholder Ameropa that exceeded €150 million and, in some cases, even approached €200 million. In contrast, Agroinvestigații reported that Romgaz considered a much lower range of €60–80 million to be realistic.
The signing of the contract at €69 million effectively confirms that valuation and shows that the Romanian state did not accept the price levels initially requested by the Swiss owners of the plant.
Negotiations had been vonsidered dead
Another element confirming Agroinvestigații’s reporting is the resumption of negotiations after they had effectively been declared closed.
At the beginning of the year, both Azomureș and Romgaz announced that the initial discussions had failed. Officially, the two companies stated that the negotiations had not produced a concrete result.
Behind the public statements, however, there was a major dispute regarding the terms of the transaction. According to information published by Agroinvestigații, the differences between the two parties involved not only the price of the plant but also the commercial conditions concerning the supply of natural gas.
Ameropa wanted cheaper gas as well
Perhaps the most important detail revealed by Agroinvestigații concerned a request made by the Ameropa Group during the negotiations.
Sources involved in the discussions stated that the owners of Azomureș had asked Romgaz to supply natural gas at a price approximately 20%–30% below market levels during the negotiation and transition period.
For a fertilizer plant that consumes enormous quantities of natural gas, such a discount would have translated into annual savings worth tens of millions of euros.
Romgaz’s management rejected this proposal. The main argument was that the financial advantage Ameropa would gain from cheaper gas could potentially exceed the benefit generated by the actual sale of the fertilizer plant.
At gas prices recorded at the end of last year, the total supply cost for a facility such as Azomureș could amount to billions of lei annually. Under such conditions, a 20%–30% reduction would have generated an economic advantage that Agroinvestigații estimated at approximately €50–70 million per year.
In other words, the requested gas discounts alone could have had a value comparable to the entire transaction that was ultimately signed.
Why the Romanian State wanted to acquire Azomureș
Romgaz’s interest in Azomureș is not new. For several years, the Romanian state has considered fertilizer production to be a strategic sector.
Azomureș is the largest industrial consumer of natural gas in Romania and the country’s main domestic fertilizer producer. During periods of normal operation, the plant can cover up to approximately half of Romania’s domestic demand for nitrogen-based fertilizers.
Following the energy crisis of 2021–2022 and the surge in natural gas prices, the plant’s activity was severely affected, being shut down or significantly reduced on multiple occasions.
Through the acquisition of Azomureș, Romgaz aims to transform part of the natural gas extracted in Romania into industrial products with higher added value, rather than selling only the raw material.
“The acquisition of the Azomureș plant by Romgaz will save fertilizer production for Romanian agriculture and ensure stable prices for our farmers in the coming years. Romgaz is diversifying its activities and creating added value by processing Black Sea natural gas within Romanian industry,” said Ilie Bolojan.
The Prime Minister also highlighted the economic impact of the transaction, noting that the industrial platform employs more than 900 people and plays an important role in the economy of Mureș County.
One of the most important industrial transactions undertaken by the Romanian State
To complete the acquisition, approval is still required from the Romgaz General Shareholders’ Meeting, the Romanian Competition Council, and the Commission for the Examination of Foreign Direct Investments.
Beyond these formalities, the signed contract represents one of the most important industrial transactions carried out by the Romanian state in recent years.
At the same time, the evolution of the negotiations confirms the information published by Agroinvestigații as early as January: Romgaz’s valuation was between €60 million and €80 million, negotiations were blocked in part by demands for cheaper gas for Azomureș, and discussions resumed around a valuation close to the one presented by the publication at that time.
Nearly five months later, the contract signed at €69 million effectively validates that valuation and demonstrates how far from reality were the scenarios placing the transaction at values approaching €150–200 million.
