Ruhrgas takes over part of ABB's Romanian operations

German group Ruhrgas, one of the largest energy companies in Europe will take over the Romanian counter maker ABB Rometrics in a matter of weeks, under a $5 million deal, market sources say.
ABB Rometrics is currently held by the Swiss-Swedish giant ABB (60%) and by the Romanian company AEM Timisoara (40%), part of the Luxten electricity group.
The deal in Romania is related to a more extensive international operation, namely the sale of ABB’s entire metering division to Ruhrgas Group for $244 million several months ago.
ABB Rometrics’ takeover was done later, because Ruhrgas had initially declined buying the stake held by Luxten through AEM Timisoara, the quoted sources say.
The three companies have recently reached an agreement, with the deal by which Ruhrgas takes over ABB Rometrics set to be concluded some time in the next few weeks. Luxten and ABB officials could not be reached for comment.
ABB Rometrics was established by ABB and AEM Timisoara in 1995 to make electrical power counters, given that ABB is one of the top players on the global energy equipment market (Romania included).
The cash-flow problems, however, have made ABB shed several businesses (the metering operations included) worldwide over the last twelve months.
ABB Group has recently lost a good deal on the Romanian market. The business entailed building a system to meter the electrical power traded on the wholesale market for Transelectrica and estimated at some 20 million euros. The contract was awarded to Switzerland-based Landis & Gyr, held by the American investment fund Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and by the German group Siemens. The reason why ABB lost this contract is that it had sold its metering business just a little while before.
ABB’s is a business worth $60-$80 million a year in Romania, as it is one of the main partners of the Romanian energy companies.
laurentiu.ispir@zf.ro