Poland’s Kulczyk Holding has been selected for exclusive talks to buy the state’s 51 per cent in Enea, the country’s third largest power generator.
The decision means that France’s GDF Suez is now out of the running to buy the utility.
Kulczyk will have until November 3 to negotiate the purchase of the government’s shares, worth more than five billion zlotys (approximately €1.2 billion).
Kulczyk Holding has emphasised that, if successful, it hopes to build a private Polish energy company around Enea.
Kulczyk Holding, which is owned by one of Poland’s richest businessmen, Jan Kulczyk, is already building a coal-fired power plant in Belarus, which will supply the local market but could also be used to send electricity to Poland. Buying Enea would quickly project Kulczyk into the market as a serious operator.
Enea has 2.9 gigawatts of installed power at its Kozienice power plant and 2.3 million clients.
Poland desperately needs to build new generating capacity to ensure it meets energy demand in the coming years, with nearly half of the country’s largely coal-fired power plants in need of updating and renovation. It has been estimated that investment of around €50 billion in new generating capacity will be required to meet needs.
The Polish government has said it is seeking to raise 25 billion zloty (approx. €6.2 billion) from asset sales this year in order to tackle its deficit.
GDF Suez and Kulczyk were among six companies that submitted initial bids for Enea in August. Enea is one of five power companies in which the government has been selling stakes this year—the others are PGE, Tauron Polska Energia, Energa and PAK.
