April 3 (SeeNews) - The Bulgarian state has no plans to enter the deal for the sale of the assets of Czech energy company CEZ assets in the country, public TV channel BNT quoted finance minister Vladislav Goranov as saying on Tuesday - a little over a month after Goranov said the government was willing to take part in the sale.
The Bulgarian state has no intention to participate in the deal for the sale of CEZ's assets in Bulgaria in any way, BNT quoted Goranov as saying before the ad-hoc parliamentary committee tasked with investigating the agreement for the sale of CEZ assets in Bulgaria to private Bulgarian company Inercom.
This position had been coordinated with prime minister Boyko Borissov and a decision had been made that the participation of the Bulgarian state is inexpedient, Goranov said, according to BNT.
Goranov also told the ad-hoc parliamentary committee that whether the deal will be completed or not is beyond the regulatory functions of the Bulgarian state.
"I cannot comment on the details of the deal related to the acquisition of CEZ Group's assets in Bulgaria because my statements could have an impact on the arbitration case launched by CEZ against Bulgaria, which is not over," Bulgarian public radio BNR quoted Borissov as saying in a letter sent to the ad-hoc committee.
In February, CEZ Group said it signed a contract for the sale of its assets in Bulgaria with Inercom for an undisclosed sum after the group's supervisory board granted consent to the transaction. The deal sparked a heated debate between the Bulgarian government and opposition regarding the financing of the purchase and the capability of Inercom to ensure the smooth operation of the companies it is buying.
As political tensions mounted, Vladislav Goranov said last month that the government was willing to acquire a controlling stake in the assets, which the Czech energy group had decided to sell to Inercom. Shortly after, Inercom submitted an official enquiry whether it was possible for the Bulgarian state to enter into the transaction.
On March 9, CEZ said it was ready to consider a possible role of the Bulgarian state in the deal for the sale of its assets in Bulgaria to Inercom.
The deal comprises seven companies - power distributor CEZ Razpredelenie [BUL:3CZ], power supplier CEZ Electro Bulgaria [BUL:1CZ], licensed electricity trader CEZ Trade Bulgaria, IT services company CEZ ICT Bulgaria, solar park Free Energy Project Oreshetz, biomass-fired power plant Bara Group and CEZ Bulgaria, which manages and coordinates the operations of the group's Bulgarian units.
In July 2016, CEZ Group said it had filed a request for international arbitration worth hundreds of millions of euro against Bulgaria over the country’s failure to observe the investment protection provisions of the Energy Charter Treaty. CEZ Group added it had repeatedly asked the Bulgarian government for speedy rectification of that state of affairs and for compensation for the damage caused, recalling that in November 2015 it had sent a notice to the Bulgarian government, in which it requested amicable settlement of the dispute.