CEZ-bought Electrica shares, 25% more expensive

The Czech company CEZ, which took over the majority stake in Electrica Oltenia last October, will pay another 15.4 million euros in addition to the 47.3 million euros it had already paid, announced the Ministry of Economy on Thursday. The Czechs will thus pay 25% more than the value initially set in the contract for the stake they directly acquired in Electrica, which accounted for 24.62% in the Oltenia branch. This is due to a transaction adjusting mechanism provided for in the contract. The state will get a total 62.8 million euros from this transaction. CEZ”s capital contribution to the company tops 103.6 million euros and was needed to acquire the 51% stake in one of the largest electricity distributors in Romania. “The privatisation contract included a mechanism adjusting the buying price, which would reflect the evolution of the financial situation of Electrica Oltenia at the time when the transaction is finalised as compared to the reference time when the investor was preparing its offer”, say ministry officials. ZF