Montenegrin Government adopted a decision on the purchase of 3.34 million shares (2.8 %) of state-owned power utility EPCG for 15 million euros.
Last week, EPCG offered to sell 10 % of its shares on the stock exchange at the starting price of 4.49 euros per share. Besides the state’s purchase, the rest of the package remained unsold.
Minister of Finance Aleksandar Damjanovic said that the liquidity of the company will be increased, the state will increase its stake in the company, thus preventing outside factors to influence Montenegrin energy sector. Montenegrin state already held 80 % stake in EPCG.
EPCG has to sell these shares by 26 September, or it will have to write them off, thus reducing the company’s capital by some 77 million euros. EPCG has been holding on to this package since the exit of Italian A2A from the company’s ownership structure.
The remaining 7.2 % of the offered shares will most likely be written off, which means that Montenegrin state will own 99 % of EPCG’s capital.
The first offering, launched in mid-July at the minimum price of 8.63 euros/share, had no bids, with the only expression of interest coming from Shanghai Electric Power, the owner of the Mozura wind farm. The second attempt, at the lower price of 7.33 euros/share, yielded no results as well.
