Investors express interest in major power distributor group

During an energy seminar held Tuesday, domestic conglomerate Elektrim S.A., Irish-based ESB, German power giants RWE Energie and E.ON Energie, Belgium utility Tractabel and French Energie de France declared interest in the so-called G-8, Poland's largest power distribution group. Elektrim S.A., a blue-chip company traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, was second after ESB to make a preliminary bid for a strategic stake in the group with the aim of expanding its presence in the sector. E.ON Energie, another likely bidder, said it is seeking to boost participation in the central European power industry and that in addition to its existing Czech and Hungarian holdings, it wants a stake in Poland's lucrative distribution segment. Belgian Tractabel, which bought into the Polish power plant Polaniec last year, said at the seminar it would bid for a 35% stake in the Rybnik power plant. Meanwhile, the Treasury Ministry has submitted to the government a draft proposal that would make it possible for foreign investors to acquire majority stakes in privatized energy sector companies. Currently, investors are allowed to obtain no more than 45% of shares in these companies. (Reuters, Rzeczpospolita, p.B2)