The second round of a tender offering a 20 percent stake in Ariadne Interconnection, a subsidiary founded by power grid operator IPTO to develop the Crete-Athens grid interconnection, will get underway next week with the opening of a Virtual Data Room for participants, energypress sources have informed.

All four first-round entrants have qualified for the procedure’s next stage following approval by RAAEY, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Environment, and Water. They are GEK-TERNA; a partnership involving Macquarie Super Core Infrastructure Fund and Phaethon Holdings (Copelouzos group); Italian operator Terna SpA; and StateGrid International Development Belgium.

The VDR will include all required information – including a shareholders’ agreement and business plan – needed by the bidders to shape their second-round binding offers, which, according to the energypress sources, will face an end-of-2023 deadline.

IPTO tasked RAAEY with the responsibility of approving the tender’s second-round qualifiers in order to offer maximum protect to the procedure and avoid any legal ordeals.

Issues checked by the authority before approving the suitability of suitors included whether investors with stakes in any domestic power producer are eligible to enter Ariadne Interconnection, the concern here being conflict of interest.

RAAEY also examined whether China’s SGCC could participate through its StateGrid International Development Belgium subsidiary, as the Chinese company holds a 24 percent stake in IPTO.