CEZ Expects to Settle Sale of Romanian Assets in H2 2020

Czech energy group CEZ said on Tuesday that it expects to settle the deal for the sale of its assets in Romania in the second half of this year.

"The first stage of the sales process was completed by acceptance of 19 non-binding offers. Submission and evaluation of selected binding offers is expected in Q2 2020," CEZ said in its 2019 financial statement.

The awarding of a sale and purchase contract to the winning bidder and settlement of the transaction are expected in the second half of 2020, the company said.

According to CEZ, the subject of the sale includes but is not limited to the distribution and sales company and the Fantanele and Cogealac wind parks.

In September, CEZ announced that it has launched a process for the sale of its assets in Romania. CEZ is considering selling seven companies in Romania, keeping only those engaged in energy services (ESCO) activities and part of trading. The companies are Energy Distribution Oltenia, Ovidiu Development, Tomis Team, MW Team Invest, CEZ Vanzare, TMK Hydroenergy Power and CEZ Romania.

Romania's Hidroelectrica said on Wednesday it is seeking the approval of its shareholders to submit a final bid to take over local assets of CEZ. The company will also ask its shareholders to approve the possibility of taking out a loan in order to finance the acquisition.

In December, Romanian news portal economica.net reported that the country's Energy Shareholdings Administration Association (SAPE) has submitted individual non-binding offers for part of CEZ assets in Romania offered for sale. SAPE submitted offers for each of the assets, in various combinations, economica.net reported at the time, quoting sources from the market.

CEZ is one of the leading integrated energy companies in Romania. Its assets include one of the largest distribution companies in the country with a customer portfolio of over 1.4 million.

In Romania, CEZ also owns Europe's largest on-shore wind park Fantanele-Cogealac with installed capacity of 600 MW, as well as the modernized hydro electric system Resita consisting of four water reservoirs and four small hydro electric power stations with 22 MW capacity in total. CEZ Romania also sells electricity and gas to end customers.

(SeeNews, March 17, 2020)

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