Electrica Muntenia Sud Sale To Enel To Be Completed May – Jun

The Romanian authorities agreed to sell the Romanian company to Enel in 2006 but finalization of the process has been postponed several times due to various technicalities.

Enel agreed in 2006 to pay EUR820 million for a 67.5% stake in Electrica Muntenia Sud.

The Italian company will pay EUR394.8 million for a 51% stake in Electrica Muntenia Sud by April 30 and then will carry out a share capital increase in order to hold a 67.5% stake in the company.

In December 2007, the European Commission cleared Enel to buy a 67.5% stake in Electrica SA, saying the deal wouldn’t create antitrust problems, since the combined companies will still face strong competitors in the retail supply of electricity in southern Romania.

Last week, the Romanian government approved the privatization of Electrica Muntenia Sud to Enel.

Laszlo Gyerko, the deputy president of Romanian privatization authority AVAS, said earlier this month that completion of the transaction would take place by April 15, after approval by the government in March.

The Italian company already owns two Romanian regional power distributors, Enel Electrica Dobrogea and Enel Electrica Banat, having acquired them from former monopoly supplier Electrica Muntenia Sud.