The Industry Minister M. Urban reiterated yesterday that he does not support the Finance Ministry’s plan to sell a 16% stake in CEZ and would prefer the state to keep its entire 67.6% stake. In line with previous comments, Mr. Urban also said that CEZ should not be privatized before 2006 and finding a partner in the form of a merger could become a topic in as late as 2008 or 2010. Source: Bloomberg
according to a proposal by the Industry Ministry, CEZ may sell its 34% stake in CEPS, the transmission grid operator, to the company for an unspecified sum, Bloomberg reported yesterday. The news is neutral until the price CEPS would pay for the stake is disclosed. Recall that CEZ is obliged to sell its minority stake in CEPS by September 1, 2004 due to an antitrust ruling.
Jitka Oppitzová, Patria Finance