CEZ Profile

Company: 
CEZ
Author: 
Steve Thomas
Date published: 
2010

CEZ has a very strong agenda to expand into Central and South Eastern Europe. It is still largely publicly owned with the Czech Ministry of Finance holding 64.3% of the shares and a further 10% is owned by itself. Its Czech business was formed in 2003, when CEZ, which up till then had been a generation and transmission company, took over several distribution companies.

In Bulgaria, it took over 67% of three distribution companies (Sofia, Stolichno and Pleven) with a total of 1.9m consumers in 2005 from the Bulgarian government. In October 2006, it took over the Varna (1260MW) coal-fired power plant It has small businesses in Poland and Romania. In June 2009, it took a 76% stake in the sole Albanian electricity distribution company, OSSH. CEZ will pay €102m for the stake and repay €124m of its debts[1]. CEZ has been reported to be interested in purchasing a stake in the Polish utility, ENEA, but it did not place a bid.[2] However, in June 2009, it completed the takeover, in combination with J&T, a Czech investment group of a German mining company, Mibrag, for about €404m.[3] In January 2010, it took over a Czech-based developer of solar projects, Gentley for an undisclosed sum.[4]

  • [1] Power in Europe ‘Investing in the Balkans: no pain, no gain’ June 29, 2009, p 4.
  • [2] Intellinews ‘Treasury short-lists Germany's RWE for talks on power firm Enea privatisation’, August 18, 2009.
  • [3] Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin ‘CEZ and J&T have been allowed to take over German mines’ June 8 2009.
  • [4] International Oil Daily ‘Czech Firm Eyes Solar Power’, January 6, 2010.