The Czech Republic is buying the natural gas pipeline operator Net4Gas, which holds the exclusive license to operate the almost 4,000 kilometer long gas pipeline network in the EU member state.
A corresponding purchase agreement was signed on Friday, said the state electricity network operator CEPS, which was responsible for the transaction. A consortium of Allianz and Borealis Infrastructure acquired Net4Gas from the German energy supplier RWE around ten years ago.
Regulators still need to approve the acquisition. Czech Industry Minister Jozef Sikela recently justified the move with energy security. “We are taking control of the critical infrastructure,” said the 56-year-old. Gas will play an important role in the long-term move away from lignite, it was said in Prague.
Critics, however, point to the company’s debts and the loss of the previously lucrative transit business between Russia and Germany. According to the information, the purchase price is the equivalent of a maximum of around 200 million euros. CEPS recently concluded a contract to acquire six underground gas storage facilities from RWE AG.
Allianz shares fell 1.55 percent to 224.85 euros in after-hours trading on Friday.
/hei/DP/men
PRAGUE (dpa-AFX)
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