Czech state-controlled electricity producer ČEZ said Monday that it had dropped plans to sell its 37.86 percent stake in its Turkish JV, Akenerji.
“Based on the received offers within the divestments process Akenerji’s main shareholders and board of directors of our company decided not to sell Akenerji’s related assets,” the almost 70-percent state-owned company said in a statement.
Czech Position broke the story that ČEZ was considering selling its stake in the major Turkish energy producer in January. ČEZ later announced that it and Turkish partner Akkök Group, which has a similar sized shareholding, were inviting offers and opening up the possibility of getting a premium bid for a majority stake and control of the company.
At the time, ČEZ said its willingness to sell depended on the attractiveness of the offers coming in and that it was in no hurry to divest. The dominant Czech electricity producer wrapped up its purchase of joint control of the Turkish company in 2009 for $302.6 million.
Expansion reset
In spite of the fast prospects of growth on the Turkish market, ČEZ has been looking to reset its ambitious previous fast foreign expansion by focusing now on the main Central European countries where it is already present, especially on wind and solar projects in Germany, Poland and Romania. It argues that the latter projects can generate cash flow fast as it starts building two new nuclear reactors at its current Temelín plant in south Bohemia.
