March 20 (SeeNews) - Czech energy group CEZ told SeeNews on Wednesday that it has a new prospective buyer for its assets in Bulgaria, which had not submitted a binding bid in the initial call for offers in 2017.
CEZ will determine its future course of action regarding the sale of its assets in Bulgaria in April, CEZ press officer Alice Horakova said in an e-mailed statement in response to a SeeNews enquiry.
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The assets of CEZ in Bulgaria comprise power utility CEZ Distribution Bulgaria [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.
CEZ Group launched the procedure for selling its assets in Bulgaria in 2017 and said it received several binding offers. The company signed an agreement to sell the assets to Sofia-based Inercom in February 2018 but the deal was later rejected by Bulgaria's Commission for Protection of Competition. Both CEZ and Inercom are currently appealing the regulator's decision before court.
The price of the transaction is 326 million euro ($378.3 million), according to CEZ Group's annual financial statement for 2017.
In December 2018, CEZ announced that it plans to start parallel negotiations with India Power over the sale of its Bulgarian assets, but the deal with Inercom remains valid.
As at 9:15 CET on Wednesday, CEZ Distribution Bulgaria shares traded 2% higher at 204 levs on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange.
CEZ Electro shares had not traded by that hour.
($ = 0.8813 euro)