Opus, EPH partner to acquire majority in Mátrai Erőmű

Deals

Opus Global, a listed company among the interests of Lőrinc Mészáros, the business oligarch and close ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, is partnering with EPH, an integrated energy utility in the Czech Republic, to indirectly acquire a 72.6% stake in power plant Mátrai Erőmű, Opus said Thursday on the Budapest Stock Exchange.   

Opus said that Status Power Invest Kft. and EP Power Europe have entered into an equal partnership agreement and established Mátra  Energy Holding to carry out the transaction, reported state news agency MTI.

Status Power Invest is operated by the Status Energy Private Capital Fund, in turn managed by Status Capital Venture Capital Fund Management, in which Opus holds a 24.67% share and Mészáros a 75.33% share. EP Power Europe is a subsidiary of EPH.

Mátra Energy Holding on Thursday concluded sale and purchase agreements for the nearly 73% stake in Mátrai Erőmű with the sellers, RWE Power AG, GBV DGB, EnBW Trust e.V. and EnBW Energie.

Regulatory bodies, including the Hungarian Energy and Public Utility Regulatory Authority (MEKH), still need to approve the deal.

The parties did not reveal the purchase price, terming it confidential business information.

The state-owned Hungarian Electricity Works (MVM) will retain its 26.15% share in Mátrai Erőmű, unaffected by the transaction, Opus said in a statement. 

Mátrai Erőmű is Hungaryʼs second biggest power generator, generating about 15% of Hungaryʼs electricity, according to MTI. Fueled mainly with lignite, it has a nameplate capacity of almost 1,000 MW, about half of that of Hungaryʼs biggest power generator, the Paks Nuclear Power Plant.

Opus Global raises capital

In a separate report by MTI on Tuesday, Opus Global was cited as saying that its board decided to raise capital in the company, settling its debt of HUF 1.313 bln owed to Konzum PE Private Equity Fund by issuing new shares through a private placement.

Of this amount, Opus said it will spend HUF 1.050 bln on developments at its unit Wamsler SE, which makes stoves.

The board decided to issue 2,067,716 new ʼAʼ series shares with face value of HUF 25, which will be subscribed by Konzum PE Private Equity Fund. The issue price of the new shares has been set at Mondayʼs closing price of HUF 635.

After the capital raise, Konzum PE Private Equity Fundʼs holding in Opus Global will increase to 20.33%.

Of the capital earlier provided by the Fund, Opus Global granted a loan of HUF 263 mln to its unit Status Capital Venture Capital Fund Management to buy a 5% stake in Diófa Fund Management, noted the MTI report.

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