STOEN tender canceled after details leaked to the media

Treasury Minister Wieslaw Kaczmarek said yesterday he would cancel a tender for up to 25% of State-owned electricity distributor STOEN after details were leaked to the local media. "After recent publications I can say I will certainly annul the tender," Kaczmarek told reporters, without giving any further details. Puls Biznesu reported last week that bidders were offering between zl.356 million and zl.708 million for 25% of STOEN, which supplies power to the Warsaw area. In a tender launched by the previous government, seven initial offers were submitted. Last month the Treasury announced that bids for the 10%-25% stake in STOEN had been placed by two German utility groups, RWE Plus and Berlin's Bewag. Separate offers were also made by Vattenfall of Sweden, which controls Warsaw's main power production group, along with Electrabel of Belgium and Poland's Energomontaz Polnoc. France's State-owned Electricite de France, which has a strong foothold in the Polish power production market, as well as US Public Service Enterprise Group also expressed their interest in buying a minority stake in STOEN. (Reuters)