The Slovak Economy Minister Pavol Rusko said yesterday that negotiations with Enel, the winner of the tender for the 66% stake in Slovenske elektrarne (SE), could be terminated as he is not happy with the progress of negotiations with the company. Talks could then begin with the company that finished second in the tender (CEZ) or the tender could even be cancelled. Rusko is expected to inform the government on the progress with Enel on November 3, while the government is expected to discuss the sale contract on November 21. (Source: Bloomberg). At present we tend to see Rusko's comments as a way of pressuring Enel to speed up its acceptance of the government's demands and therefore we still view CEZ's chance of stepping back into the game as minimal.
Tomáš Gatěk, Patria Finance