CEZ will Explore Possibilities for Bulgarian State to Participate in the Deal

Czech CEZ will examine the possibilities for the Bulgarian state to enter the deal for the sale of the Bulgarian branch of the company, CEZ Group spokesperson Alica Horakova told BNT on 9th of March. A full legal analysis will be carried out, after which the negotiations with the company "Inercom" will continue.

During the negotiations on the finalisation of the deal with CEZ, the owner of "Inercom" Ginka Varbakova sent a formal request to Prague asking whether at this stage the Bulgarian state could join the deal.

Horakova said that CEZ decided to consider the request. We agreed that both parties will prepare an analysis of the options and possible outcomes of this potential participation. In a few weeks, the talks will continue, she added.

CEZ underlined that while the Bulgarian government has not officially declared interest in the sale, which has been in a process of preparation for a year now, the company is ready to consider the request from its business partner, Inercom.

The negotiations are expected to continue at the end of March or early April. More meetings are going to take place between Inercom and CEZ. Lawyers need to prepare a thorough analysis of the options if Bulgaria joins the sale.

Amid those developments, Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov and Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev rebutted the claim that ČEZ had offered a deal to the Bulgarian state before.

Goranov touched upon the different options for the outcome of the negotiations. In his words, there is no room for concern, even if in the end the state is not allowed to take part.

If the financial collateral of the deal is not related to money laundering or suspicious capital, I see no reason to worry. My personal stance is that the state has...