The Prague Business Journal reports today that E.ON has backed out of the CEZ privatization as a stand-alone bidder and that Electricite de France and British Energy are among the favorites in the sale process. This is not new information, as E.ON had said that it would not take part in the privatization tender after it expressed its intention to stop buying electricity from CEZ.
PBJ also says that domestic energy-sector privatization could be delayed till 2002. The completion of sector privatization by the end of 2001 is widely considered by the market as too ambitious, therefore the magazine’s report today should not affect the stock.
(Jiří Soustružník)