Sulík will not agree to the sale of a stake in SSE to Hungarians – SME.sk

BRATISLAVA. Minister of Economy Richard Sulík does not agree with the sale of a 49-percent stake in Stredoslovenská energetika Holding (SSE Holding) to the Hungarian state-owned company MVM.

As he said before Wednesday’s government meeting, he has two reasons to block such a sale. “The first is that I do not see the point for another state to acquire a stake in a Slovak energy company. And MVM is a purely state-owned company, “Sulík explained.

“The second reason is that I do not like what the Republic of Hungary has been doing lately. For this reason, I do not want the Hungarian state to own a significant part of our business,” he added.

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So far, Sulík is only blocking the Hungarians

Minister Sulík will prepare a resolution for the next meeting of the government, where the government will oppose the sale of the minority sale of SSE Holding to the Hungarian company MVM.

The Minister has already acquainted the current owner of the 49-percent share, the Czech Energy and Industrial Holding (EPH), with his steps. According to him, he respects it.

The minister does not yet plan to block the sale to other bidders. The current move so far concerns only the Hungarian company MVM. “It simply came to our notice then. For example, I do not register the interest of ČEZ, which has also issued a press release, that they are not interested in buying, “Sulík stated.

The state will not exercise the right of first refusal

The Slovak government may block the sale of companies belonging to the critical infrastructure, which also includes part of SSE Holding. In the sale of Stredoslovenská energetika Holding, the state even has a pre-emptive right, which, according to the minister, it does not plan to use. According to Sulík, the current amount of 1.25 billion euros for a 49 percent share is too high for the state.

SSE Holding is already undergoing an in-depth audit. EPH acquired a 49 percent stake in the company in 2013, when it bought it for about 400 million euros from the French company Electricité de France. She got it at the beginning of this millennium for about 130 million euros.

SSE Holding holds a majority share of 51 percent without managerial powers through the Ministry of Economy.