The Greek privatization agency said it received two binding bids for the gas pipeline operator. Bids were submitted by a consortium of Italy’s Snam, Spain’s Enagas Internacional and Belgium’s Fluxys, and a consortium of Spain’s Regasificadora del Noroeste (Reganosa), Romania’s Transgaz and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
The privatization agency said it would begin evaluating the bids immediately together with its advisers.
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.