The Czech company CEZ confirmed yesterday it is interested in the acquisition of the Varna thermal power plant. A day earlier the Russian company RAO EES, winner of the privatisation tender, decided to quit the deal. CEZ ranked second with an offer of 192.044 million euro for the power plant. RAO offered 389.727 million euro but quit hours before the Privatisation Agency accepted the draft contract for the sale. The contract was signed in October last year. Now the Privatisation Agency has to decide whether to continue the negotiations with CEZ or to initiate a new privatisation procedure.
CEZ will accept any decision the agency takes, company representatives said. The company is ready for negotiations if these are initiated with the second-ranked candidate. Company representatives said this would be a logical development in the process, after RAO quit. The company is willing to conclude the deal as soon as possible, Novinar newspaper reported.