August 14 (SeeNews) - There is investor interest in the acquisition of shares of Montenegro's state-controlled power utility Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG) [MNG:EPCG], economy minister Dragica Sekulic said.
EPCG is a stable company with a significant growth potential, Montenegrin news agency Mina quoted Sekulic as saying in an interview on Sunday.
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"We are open for talks with anyone who shares our strategic commitments and vision for the development of the company, that is, the energy sector of Montenegro. Therefore, we will choose carefully when the time comes," Sekulic said.
Montenegro's government said in July 2016 it received an offer from Italian utility A2A for the sale of the company's 41.7% stake in EPCG. The government will pay 250 million euro for the shares held by A2A in seven annual instalments so as not to burden the state budget, the government said at the time.
Last month, Montenegro's government said it planned to propose to extend to September the deadline for the repurchase of a second portion of shares in EPCG held by A2A. The extension was needed because the original deadline for the repurchase of the second batch of shares was July 31, before the August 20 meeting of EPCG shareholders whose approval is needed for the transaction to go through.
Montenegro’s government currently controls 70.16% of the capital of EPCG.