A2A offered to the government all its shares for €250m
The Italian A2A company confirmed the “put option” to the government. It defines the conditions of withdrawal from the Electric Power Company of Montenegro (EPCG). According to the provisions of the shareholders agreement, A2A actually started the process of leaving the power company.
The “put option” implies that the government takes over all A2A shares in EPCG for €250m in seven annual instalments.
“A2A SpA (“A2A”) informs that today it served the Government of Montenegro with the put option notice (“Put Option”) provided by the Shareholders’ Agreement dated 29 August 2016, as amended on 29 March 2017, related to the management of the company Elektroprivreda Crne Gore AD Niksic (“EPCG”). The Put Option is related to the sale of the whole stake owned by A2A in EPCG for the price of €250m, payable in seven annual instalments as of May 1, 2018.
A2A paid €436m for the stake in EPCG in 2009, or €8.4 per share.
Minister of economy Dragica Sekulic announced on 28 June that A2A would withdraw from EPCG after their contract expires on 1 July. However, she could not announce the details of the negotiations that have been led with the Italian partner these days.
A2A owns 41.75% of EPCG stocks and the government has a pre-emptive right. The put option of the Shareholders Agreement specifies that A2A has the right to offer its shares in EPCG to the government for €250m. This right is valid for three months after the expiration of the agreement, ie by the end of September 2017.
The agreement stipulates that after activation of the put option, A2A is obliged not to block the decisions proposed by the state, primarily decisions related to the second block of the Thermal Power Plant Pljevlja.
Source: CDM
