French and German utilities are set to buy large stakes in the distribution network of Slovakia
E.On, EdF and RWE Plus will take 49 per cent stakes in three Slovak electricity distribution companies – Zapadoslovenske, Stredoslovenske, and Vychodoslovenske Energeticke Zavody (SSE, ZSE and VSE, respectively) – if their bids win government approval. E.On beat RWE, EVN and EnBW to the largest, ZSE, bidding around $210 million while EdF’s bid of $175 million for SSE was successful. The smallest, VSE, will cost RWE Plus around $130 million. But even VSE has more than 600 000 customers and supplies more than 4.5 TWh annually, while ZSE claims nearly a million consumers. Links to the Polish, Austrian, Hungarian and Ukrainian grids will add to the value of the assets. Bidders have been offered management control and an option to increase their stakes later, pending changes to a law that requires 51 per cent state ownership. Meanwhile, the privatisation of 49 per cent of Slovenske Elektrarne, the dominant generator, will be delayed by September’s general election. PricewaterhouseCoopers submitted a privatisation plan at the end of April.