CEZ CEO, Martin Roman, said yesterday that CEZ is still hoping to win the tender for the privatization of the state’s 66% stake in Slovenske elektrarne. CEZ believes that its bid in its final form would be the best option for the Slovak republic. Roman thinks that after a thorough analysis of the conditions included in the bids submitted by other bidders, the Slovak government will come to the same conclusion. Note that the privatization advisor recommended Enel as the winner with a EUR 840m bid. CEZ came second with a bid of EUR 690m, while Inter RAO came third. CEZ reportedly submitted a second bid worth EUR 690m - 1.19bn (the latter subject to three conditions that the privatization advisor found unacceptable). The Slovak Finance Minister, Pavol Rusko, should recommend the winner of the SE tender to the Cabinet for a final decision on Friday 24 or at the beginning of next week.
While we point to the fact that the bids are very complex and only limited information is available to the public, we see CEZ’s bids as too aggressive and therefore assess its failure to win the tender as positive news for the stock.
Separately, the finance minister repeated for Lidove noviny daily that privatization of CEZ is not on the agenda. Sobotka added that the Cabinet is not in talks with any investor regarding the sale of the 16% stake.
Tomáš Gatěk, Patria Finance