February 15 (SeeNews) - RWE Hrvatska, a unit of German energy company RWE Group, said on Thursday it has acquired local gas distribution and supply company Montcogim-Plinara, based in Zagreb county.
RWE Hrvatska has become the sole owner of Montcogim-Plinara, which operates in six towns and municipalities around Zagreb, RWE said in a statement sent to SeeNews.
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The company manages a 370 km gas network and supplies 11,000 customers.
"This is the second sale of a gas distributor in Croatia following market liberalisation, and both companies were bought by RWE," Karl Kraus, CEO of RWE Hrvatska, is quoted saying.
Last year, RWE Hrvatska bought a 75% stake in gas distribution and supply companies Koprivnica plin and Koprivnica opskrba from the municipal government of Koprivnica.
"After the acquisition in Koprivnica last year, this newest purchase means we are continuing to lead the consolidation of the Croatian gas market, which is currently occupied by 35 suppliers," he noted.
RWE has been present in Croatia since 1996 and had joint business with state-owned power utility HEP at the TE Plomin thermal power plant, and ZOV, a waste water treatment plant in Zagreb.
The company has over 120,000 household and business clients in Croatia.
In 2013, RWE entered Croatia's power supply market after acquiring local electricity supplier Energija 2 Sustavi and renaming it to RWE Energija.