Marguerite fund to buy E.ON stake in Latvian gas utility -minister (updated)

Latvijas Gaze AS

22/12/2015 12:33

(Adds quotes, parliament vote) 
    By Gederts Gelzis 
    RIGA, Dec 22 (Reuters) - European investment fund Marguerite 
is close to buying a 47.2 percent stake in utility Latvijas Gaze 
 GZE1R.RI  from Germany's E.ON  EONGn.DE , Latvia's economy 
minister said on Tuesday. 
    The latest deal, if confirmed, will conclude E.ON's exit 
from the Baltic and Finnish gas utilities as a part of its 
divestment programme in Europe. Germany's biggest utility has 
already sold its assets in Lithuania, Estonia and Finland. 
    Dana Reizniece-Ozola told Reuters on Tuesday, after meeting 
fund and E.ON representatives the previous day, that the deal 
will be announced "in the near future", declining to be more 
specific. 
    She later said the deal is expected to take place before 
next month's final vote in parliament on a restructuring plan 
for Latvijas Gaze. Parliament approved the bill in a second 
reading last week and the ruling coalition has agreed to put it 
for the final vote without major changes, Reizniece-Ozola 
said. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1463YZ 
    The lack of clarity on the utility's future has deterred 
potential buyers of E.ON's stake, which is worth about 183.6 
million euros ($200.9 million) at current market prices, 
according to Reuters calculations. 
    Latvijas Gaze will have to set up a separate company to 
operate the gas transmission grid and Incukalns underground gas 
storage site by April 2017, according to the proposed bill. 
    "Their (Marguerite's) intention is rather clear; they said 
yesterday they would like to be a long-term partner in this 
infrastructure company," the minister said. 
    The Marguerite fund, also known as the 2020 European Fund 
for Energy, Climate Change and Infrastructure, declined to 
comment, as did EO.N. 
    The fund's stakeholders include several EU state-owned 
development banks, including France's Caisse des Depots and 
Germany's KfW. 
    Russian gas supplier Gazprom  GAZP.MM  has a 34 percent 
stake in the Latvian gas utility, with gas trading company 
Iteral Latvija holding 16 percent. 
    E.ON sold its stakes in Lithuanian and Finnish gas utilities 
for a total of more than 300 million euros in 2014. It did not 
disclose the value of its sales in Estonia the same 
year. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nWEA00GEX  
    Gazprom has followed E.ON by selling its stakes in 
Lithuanian gas utilities and in Estonia's gas transmission grid 
operator. 
    Last week the Finnish government said it would buy Gazprom's 
25 percent stake in Finland's Gasum for 251.3 million 
euros. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1471D6 
($1 = 0.9141 euros)    
 
 (Additional reporting by Christoph Steitz in Frankfurt; Writing 
by Nerijus Adomaitis; Editing by Louise Heavens and David 
Goodman) 
 ((nerijus.adomaitis@thomsonreuters.com; +47 9027 6699; Reuters 
Messaging: nerijus.adomaitis.thomsonreuters@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: LATVIJAS GAZE M&A/MARGUERITE