Inter RAO UES Goes West
A block stake in Inter RAO UES will be probably sold to a foreign investor. It is being eyed by French Electricite de France (EdF) that has shown no interest in Russia’s power industry until recently and that will have to pay from $500 million to $875 million to approach this market of the country.
Foreign investors have manifested interest in the company that may result in the joint projects or acquisition of a share in it, Inter RAO Deputy General Director Sergey Ivanov announced at Russia Power Forum yesterday.
The companies “with positive experience of cooperating with Inter RAO” will agree, perhaps, to a minority stake, the top manager supposed, giving French EdF as an example. According to the sources familiar with the situation, Inter RAO is in talks exactly with EdF about selling a portion of stocks. “But they won’t take less than 25 percent,” one of the sources pointed out.
Inter RAO UES is Russia’s monopoly for export/import of electric power. The company has energy assets in Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Tadjikistan, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Russia (North-West Heat Power Plant). RAO UES of Russia holds 60 percent in Inter RAO, federal-run Rosenergoatom owns the remaining 40 percent.
EdF is an energy holding of France with the government’s ownership of roughly 90 percent. The company covers 75 percent of the country’s power industry and has 37 million clients only in Europe. The installed capacity of its power plants is estimated at roughly ˆ60 billion. EdF exports electric power to Britain (15 billion kWh a year) and Germany. Nuclear electric power accounts for over a half of EdF business.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 12, 2007
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