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SOFIA, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Bulgaria should start talks to try to sell its Varna power plant to Czech utility CEZ <CEZPsp.PR> after a previous bid to sell it to Russia's UES collapsed, the director of its sell-off agency said on Tuesday. Russian power firm Unified Energy System <EESR.MM> withdrew from signing a 579 million euro ($700 million) deal for the 1,260 megawatt plant after winning a tender because it was not satisfied with regulatory and environmental issues in the deal. CEZ made the second-highest offer for the plant in the tender, offering to pay 285.2 million euros in cash and investment, followed by Italy's Enel<ENEI.MI> and Greece's Public Power Corp <DEHr.AT>. "According to me, we should first exhaust all possibilities to reach a deal with the second-best bidder," privatisation agency Executive Director Todor Nikolov told state-owned national television BNT. "Only if we see we cannot achieve the best for Bulgaria in talks with the second-best bidder, should we move on and launch a new procedure." Todorov said he was confident Bulgaria will sell its second biggest thermal power generator at Varna this year. But he said the sell-off agency's executive council should meet first and decide how to proceed. "We have not yet informed CEZ. The agency executive body should first meet, and together with experts from the economy and energy ministry, we should decide whether to continue with the second bidder or risk a new procedure," he said. A source close to the process said a decision whether to start talks with CEZ will be taken at a meeting which could take place next week. ((Reporting by Tsvetelia Ilieva, editing by Quentin Bryar; Reuters Messaging: Tsvetelia.Ilieva.reuters.com@reuters.net; tel:+ 359-2-939-97-31)) ($1=.8277 Euro) |
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