Investment funds targeted in operator DEDDIE’s 49% sale

Power utility PPC’s forthcoming sale of a 49 percent stake in subsidiary firm DEDDIE/HEDNO, the distribution network operator, will not be limited to potential buyers with energy-market backgrounds, according to the sale’s terms, published yesterday, suggesting the seller is aiming to attract investment funds.

DEDDIE/HEDNO’s investment plan for the next five years is worth 2.3 billion euros, including 850 million euros for a nationwide digital power meter upgrade, an amount the government will seek to draw from the EU recovery fund.

Three major infrastructure funds have already expressed unofficial interest in the operator’s sale through a market test staged by Goldman Sachs, sources informed.

The sale is planned to take place over two stages, beginning with expressions of interest by candidates until a January 29 deadline, followed by a second round of binding bids from second-round qualifiers.

They will be given access to a virtual data room for evaluations before binding offers are shaped and submitted.

The government will aim to complete DEDDIE/HEDNO’s partial privatization in the first half of 2021, energy minister Costis Hatzidakis noted during an online Capital Link Forum staged yesterday.