EdF/EnBW finalizing 35 % stake purchase in Elektrownia Rybnik tomorrow

The period for exclusive negotiations for the French-German consortium EdF/EnBW to purchase a 35% stake in power plant Elektrownia Rybnik expires tomorrow and, according to sector sources, the negotiation deadline will not need to be extended since the Treasury Ministry has come to terms with the future investor. Currently both parties are putting final touches on the deal draft to be inked tomorrow. Rumors are circulating that the consortium will pay a little less than euro 140 million, the amount which the company's previous investor, the NRG/Marubeni consortium, was supposed to pay in its unfinalized deal. By tomorrow EdF/EnBW will also have signed the benefits package for Rybnik's staff. Additional difficulty is posed by the fact that in negotiations with the NRG/Marubeni consortium, the workforce of nearly 1,500 people was guaranteed 5.5 years of continued employment. Additionally, every worker was promised a 10% raise, coupled with a zl.16,000 privatization bonus after the purchase was finalized. It is unlikely that workers participating in the new negotiations will be willing to accept less generous conditions. (Prawo i Gospodarka, p. 3) A.Z.