Austria plans to use its stakes in companies to raise 500 million euros

VERBUND AG

26/11/2025 14:26

Austria owns stakes in firms including OMV, Verbund

Chancellor did not specify how it would raise the money

Funds will be used to lower electricity bills, he said

'We know how we want to do it,' he tells reporters

Adds details, Stocker comment, background throughout

VIENNA, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Austria's government plans to spend roughly 500 million euros ($579 million) on reducing electricity bills for the general public, and the funds will come from the state's stakes in companies, Chancellor Christian Stocker said on Wednesday.

The surprise announcement at a press conference on the day Stocker returned to his office after back surgery prompted several questions from reporters about how exactly the money would be raised, but Stocker declined to elaborate.

    Austria holds stakes in various companies including listed ones such as oil firm OMV OMVV.VI, utility Verbund VERB.VI, Austrian Post POST.VI and A1 Telekom Austria TELA.VI, part of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim's America Movil AMXB.MX.

"It will be possible to make these 500 million available from our stakes," Stocker said, adding that the spending would be budget-neutral, meaning it would not deepen a deficit that the centrist coalition government is trying to rein in.

    "I understand that you would like me to tell you in detail which company it will come from and what method will be used," Stocker said. "We know how we want to do it. We will agree on the details (within the government)."

A spokesperson for public holdings company OBAG, which manages the state's biggest stakes in firms, declined to comment on the announcement.

($1 = 0.8639 euros)

 (Reporting by Francois Murphy and Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich. Editing by Alex Richardson and Mark Potter)

 ((francois.murphy@thomsonreuters.com; +43 1 2530 165 010;))