MVM closes acquisition of Fogaz stake from RWE

Budapest, April 15 (MTI) – The state-owned Hungarian Electricity Works (MVM) on Tuesday said it transferred the purchase price of 41 billion forints (EUR 133.28m) for a minority stake in gas distributor Fogaz to German utilities company RWE.

With the transfer, and following the necessary regulatory approval, the acquisition of the 49.83 percent stake has been closed, MVM said.

MVM signed the purchase agreement for the stake last December. MVM financed the acquisition of the stake with a loan from the state assets manager MNV, which is MVM’s largest shareholder. The loan will be refinanced with a capital raise by the owners in the course of the year, MVM said. MVM will acquire the rest of the company’s shares from the local council of Budapest by July 31, 2014, according to a government resolution published in March.

Talks on the acquisition of the local council stake are starting now that the acquisition of RWE’s stake has been completed, MVM said on Tuesday. Hungary’s government earlier announced plans to play a bigger role in the utilities sector and transform it into a non-profit one.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters