CEZ said in a report on its website that the first stage of the sale process was completed by accepting 19 non-binding offers. It also said the presentation and assessment of the offers selected are expected in the second quarter of 2020.
The Romanian Government said Thursday (April 9) that all procedures to sell and acquire majority stakes in energy companies are suspended during the period in which the country is under state of emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic. After the state of emergency period ends, the procedures will be resumed. Romania has recently extended its state of emergency by another 30 days, until May 15, 2020, to help halt the spread of the new coronavirus.
In March 2020, Ziarul Financiar wrote that CEZ group had received preliminary financial offers valuing its operations in Romania at EUR1.1 billion to EUR1.3 billion. Financial market sources said at the time that CEZ had until the end of March to assess the final financial offers and answer investors.
According to ZF sources, the following companies are in the race to buy CEZ’s Romanian assets: Australia’s Macquarie group, DWS – Deutsche Bank’s investment fund (the two also seek to buy a stake in Enel Romania), Hungary’s state-run power company MVM, Austria’s OMV (owner of Petrom) and a consortium comprising Hidroelectrica, Electrica and SAPE (Electrica to handle distribution and Hidroelectrica to get the wind power plants for electricity generation).