Italy’s Enel raises its stake in Russian power generator OGK-5 to 37%

Enel’s wholly-owned Dutch subsidiary Enel Investment Holding B.V. signed late on Wednesday a $432 million agreement on purchasing around 2.5 billion shares in OGK-5 from Credit Suisse, representing about 7.15% of the company’s share capital, at 4.26 rubles ($0.17) per share. Enel, Europe’s third largest listed utility by market capitalization, has become the first foreign company to acquire generating assets in Russia in the process of power sector reform.

The Italian company previously held a 29.9% stake in OGK-5. On June 6, at an auction in Moscow, Enel acquired a 25.03% stake in OGK-5 and bought another 4.96% on June 22 to bring its stake in the Russian wholesale power generator up to 29.99%. In August it received authorization from Russia’s Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) to acquire over 70% in OGK-5.

OGK-5 includes four thermal power plants with total capacity of about 8,700 megawatts, and is one of the most valuable assets spun off from Russian electricity monopoly Unified Energy System, which holds a 50% stake in the company. The Russian power sector has undergone radical changes in recent years aimed at increasing the efficiency of power plants and developing the industry by attracting investment. During the restructuring process, specialized structures have been created in place of the old vertically integrated companies. By the end of the reforms, potentially competitive parts of the industry - generation, sales and repair companies - will become mainly private and will compete with each other. However, natural monopoly functions - power transmission and dispatching - will remain state-controlled. (rian.ru)