While in the previous decade the Czech Republic tended to be at the receiving end of foreign investment, the country has now started looking around for countries where it can place its own investments. Now the largest such deal in Czech history is in the pipeline as the Czech power utility CEZ has been promised a majority stake in a group of power distributing companies in Bulgaria.
Following Thursday's decision by the Bulgarian government, the Czech energy giant CEZ is set to take over one third of the Bulgarian electricity market. Along with Austrian and German companies, CEZ has won bids for the privatisation of seven Bulgarian power distribution firms being sold off by the Bulgarian government. The Czech company will gain a 67 percent stake, worth some 280 million euros, in three of the seven firms. CEZ will be responsible for distribution in the Sofia region and part of north-western Bulgaria, catering for nearly 2 million customers. In the Czech Republic CEZ, which is two-thirds state-owned, currently has about 3.4 million customers.
The contracts will be signed in late October, but CEZ is already thinking about further expansion on the markets in Central and Eastern Europe with the aim of becoming a regional leader. CEZ has also said it will submit a bid for a minority stake in Slovakia's dominant power producer Slovenske elektrarne, including the nuclear division of the company. CEZ has also expressed interest in the purchase of two Romanian power distributors and it is considering taking part in the upcoming privatisation of Polish distribution companies. In future years CEZ would also like to focus on the electricity markets in Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova, Ukraine and Serbia.
