A deadline for the Russian UES to close the acquisition of the Varna and/or Russe power plant ends today. We remind that earlier the Bulgarian government said that UES is negotiating the purchase of only one power plant, Varna, out of the two it won earlier in a tender (Varna with a capacity of 1,260 MW and Russe with a capacity of 400MW). CEZ finished 2nd in the tender and therefore now has a chance to step back into the game with an offer of EUR 36.3m. However, Bulgaria has said that should Varna be sold, it is likely that Russe will remain state owned. Neutral/Positive
CEZ is preparing a restructuring of the group due to the EU requirement to separate electricity sales and distribution. The plan also assumes a reduction in the workforce of around 1,500 people out of a total 15,000 by 2008. The plan is part of the Vision 2008 strategy and has been known in the market for some time. Source. Hospodarske Noviny. Neutral