Croatian Competition Agency (AZTN) said that it has approved the acquisition of 75 % stake in local gas distributor Koprivnica Plin and gas supplier Koprivnica Opskrba by a subsidiary of German energy company RWE, RWE Hrvatska.
In February, RWE Hrvatska announced that it has signed a 6.8 million euros worth agreement on the acquisition of stakes in these two companies with local utility company Komunalac, which still holds the remaining 25 % stakes. RWE Hrvatska will take over the supply of 12,000 households and over 1,000 business customers, including large companies such as Podravka, Carlsberg and Hartmann. The company said that it will not reduce the current number of employees in these two gas suppliers and it will keep their headquarters in Koprivnica for at least five years.
According to the statement from ATZN, RWE’s share in Croatian gas supply market will increase to 5 % with this acquisition. CEO of RWE Hrvatska Karl Kraus said earlier that the company, which currently supplying electricity to customers in Croatia, will soon offer the supply of both electricity and gas to its customers, adding that the company expects that it will have a 10 % share in Croatia’s gas supply market within the next three years. Regarding the possibility of acquiring other local gas suppliers, Kraus said that the Croatian gas market needs consolidation, but RWE Hrvatska is currently not conducting any such negotiations.
