Treasury reveals short list in tender of G-8, Poland's biggest energy group

The Treasury Ministry announced on Friday that it has short-listed six foreign and domestic companies bidding for a strategic stake in Poland's largest electricity group, G-8. The firms include Belgium-based Electrabel; Spain's two top power companies, Endesa and Iberdrola; Irish state-owned ESB; two groups led by Germany-based E.ON Energie; and Polish power and telecoms company Elektrim. At the same time the Treasury Ministry rejected bids from such companies as Electricite de France, Spain's Union Fenosa and Sweden-based Sydkraft. G-8 is a conglomerate of eight northern power distributors supplying around 16% of Poland's power to 2.5 million customers. It is Poland's second power distributor to be sold after a 25% stake of the Gliwice-based Gornoslaski Zaklad Elektroenergetyczny (GZE) was sold to Vattenfall of Sweden late last year for around $960 million in cash and long-term investments. (Reuters; Puls Biznesu, p.5) A.Z.