Snam – Energas – Fluxys offered EUR535 million for the 66% stake in DESFA, while Transgaz – Regasificadora del Noroeste – Reganosa Asset Investments – EBRD offered EUR457 million, Greek media reported.
The Greek privatization agency has requested the highest bidder to improve its offer.
The consortium including Transgaz submitted a binding bid for DESFA in February. DESFA transports gas from the Greek-Bulgarian and Greek-Turkish borders to Greek consumers via a 1,459-km pipeline.
Greece was supposed to sell DESFA by the end of 2017 under privatization conditions imposed by a bailout scheme but the term has been extended. Under the bailout agreement, the biggest refinery in Greece, Hellenic Petroleum, is selling its 35% stake in DESFA and the remaining 31% will be sold by the Greek state.
End-March, Romania’s Transgaz acquired Vestmoldtransgaz, the national gas transmission company in neighboring Moldova.