May 18 (SeeNews) - Romania's energy ministry on Thursday declined to comment on the reported bid of power supplier and distributor Electrica [BSE:EL] for CEZ Bulgaria assets, citing confidentiality considerations.
"More details on the matter cannot be disclosed to the public, as they are at the moment classified information which can jeopardise a possible transaction," the energy ministry, which holds a 48.8% stake in Electrica, said on Thursday in response to a SeeNews query.
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On Wednesday, CEZ Group officially announced it has started negotiations with selected investors on the sale of its assets in Bulgaria. The company did not disclose the names of the selected companies.
On Thursday, Bulgarian media said that CEZ has invited four candidates interested in acquiring its assets in Bulgaria to submit binding bids and bank guarantees for their price offers. Electrica was not on the list.
Two of the candidates are Bulgarian companies - Sofia-based Inercom Group and thermal power plant Bobov Dol, while the other two are Czech energy company Energo-Pro and a consortium between Turkish engineering holding STFA Yatirim and Bulgarian-based motor oils producer Prista Oil, Capital Daily newspaper reported, citing various sources close to the process.
Last week, Romanian energy minister Toma Petcu said in a video interview for news portal DCnews.ro that EElectrica had placed an offer to purchase CEZ's assets in Bulgaria.
"Electrica has submitted an offer to take over the shares which CEZ has in Bulgaria. This is the company that supplies energy to Sofia and its surroundings, so we have 3 million customers, a fairly large portfolio," Petcu said.
"We would very much like to be able to acquire this package of shares and become a regional player," Petcu added.
CEZ Group announced in January it had decided to study options related to its equity investments in Bulgaria based on the interest of several investors.
In Bulgaria, CEZ operates a power distribution company, a retail electricity supplier and a wholesale trader. CEZ also owns a coal power plant with an installed capacity of 1,265 MW near the city of Varna as well as two renewable sources power plants.
Blue-chip company Electrica is listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. Its shares were trading down 0.43% to 14.02 lei at 1029 on the BVB.
With approximately 10,000 employees, Electrica is providing services to over 1.6 million customers and is operating at national level organized in three zones for electric power distribution:Transilvania Nord,Transilvania Sud, Muntenia Nord, and all over the country for electric power supply, maintenance and energy services.
(1 euro=4.5539 lei)