UniCredit, Raiffeisen Seek to Broker EVN, CEZ Bulgaria Stake Sale

People leave the central office of UniCredit Bulbank in Sofia. UniCredit Bulbank is the biggest bank in Bulgaria. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

UniCredit SpA, Italy's biggest bank, and Vienna-based Raiffeisen Bank International AG have bought tender documents to broker Bulgaria's 33% stake sale in Austria's EVN AG and Prague-based CEZ AS units.

Eight more financial companies, including United Bulgarian Bank, a unit of the National Bank of Greece SA (ETE), Greece's biggest lender, are likely to submit bids before a June 16 deadline, the Privatization Agency announced on Thursday.

Bulgaria plans to sell the minority stake in the EVN and CEZ-operated electricity distributor on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange. Each of the units includes two companies in charge of sales and grid operation.

Eight companies, including Raiffeisen Bank International AG and United Bulgarian Bank, submitted bids to broker Bulgaria's 33% stake sale in an Germany's E.ON AG unit, the privatization agency announced on May 28.

At the end of last year Bulgaria's government announced it will list in two or three months its 33% minority stake in the three power distributors in the country in a bid to enliven the local stock exchange and boost revenues.

Bulgaria, struggling to cover its widest budget deficit in a decade, plans to sell minority stakes in other energy utilities as well.

In 2004, the Balkan country sold 67% in its three power distributors to Germany's E.ON, Austria's EVN and Czech CEZ.

E.ON serves households in North-Eastern Bulgaria, including the Black Sea city of Varna. Czech power utility CEZ supplies power to over 2 million households and companies in western Bulgaria, while EVN serves the south-eastern parts of the country.

Heavily criticized for its failure to rake in revenues into the budget by privatization, Bulgaria's government is expected this year to finally go ahead with the planned sale of minority stakes in the electricity distributors.

In 2011 Bulgaria's government should finally make its mind about how to restructure the energy holding, which groups the country's top energy assets, analysts have said.

Reports say the holding will come to include only the thermal and nuclear power plants, together with the National Electricity Company NEK, after which a minority stake will be listed on the stock exchange.

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