The Group has initiated a process to sell its Albanian distribution business, CEZ Shpërndarje. Potential buyers may thus express their interest during January, and a decision on the subsequent steps will be made afterwards. At the same time, the Group continues to negotiate with the Albanian authorities how to resolve the situation at hand.
The Group entered the Albanian market in May 2009 by acquiring 76% of the local distribution company. The remaining 24% equity stake is held by the Government of Albania. The operations in Albania got complicated early in 2012 when, due to the previous catastrophic draught and the resulting need to import power from abroad, KESH as the state-owned power producer raised the buy-off prices for CEZ Shpërdarje which, however, could not reflect the cost growth in the end prices toward consumers. After a series of other unforeseeable and even illegal actions taken by Albania and following numerous unsuccessful negotiations, the Group has taken steps to claim a guarantee made by the World Bank.