TAURON Polska Energia acquires from Vattenfall AB its subsidiary - Górnośląski Zakład Elektroenergetyczny S.A. (GZE). Companies have signed an agreement for the sale of 99.98% of the share capital of GZE. The total value of the transaction is PLN 4.6 billion, which represents an enterprise value of PLN 3.5 billion and PLN 1.1 billion net cash.
- The acquisition will be financed through a new tranche of the existing bond facility and cash. The sale is subject to antitrust approval and is expected to close within six months.
“Such transactions, concluded on purely business terms, are a good sign that a company so important to the Polish economy can take advantage of an opportunity to increase its value that appeared on the market”, Aleksander Grad, Minister of the State Treasury said.
“The acquisition of GZE is aligned with the strategy of the TAURON Group. By acquiring these assets, we are taking advantage of an opportunity on the Polish energy market. The possibility of integrating distribution infrastructure in southern Poland where our operations are concentrated is favorable for us”, Dariusz Lubera, TAURON CEO said. “We are gaining assets that complement our operations and will enable us to generate added value by providing greater security to our current and prospective customers, know-how and better access to the large and receptive market of Upper Silesia.”
The acquisition will let TAURON become the key power distributor in the region of southern Poland. Thanks to the transaction the number of end users and the volume of sold and distributed electricity will also increase. Moreover, TAURON Group expects that the transaction will be a source of synergies resulting from integration of the acquired assets.
The transaction is financed through a mix of cash and new debt, consistent with TAURON’s sound cash flow and low net debt.
What TAURON Group gains through the acquisition:
- Growth in selected key businesses: Distribution (+11.0TWh distributed, +1.1m customers), Supply (+6.8TWh sold, +1.1 million customers), Renewables (+30MW generation)
- Favourable geographical fit and potential synergies
- Reduction of risk associated with exposure to CO2 and acquisition of a 30MW wind farm
- Best practices from both sides to be implemented across the organisation
- Optimisation of the cost associated with active management of market risks
TAURON’s advisors on the transaction were BNP Paribas as exclusive financial advisor and Weil, Gotshal & Manges as legal counsel.
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Vattenfall is one of Europe’s largest generators of electricity and the largest producer of heat with consolidated sales of SEK 214 billion in 2010. GZE, acquired by Vattenfall in 2001, is one of the key players in the Polish electricity market and the largest electricity supplier in Upper Silesia by volume of supplied electricity. GZE has 1.1 million end customers. GZE distributed 11 TWh and sold 6 TWh in 2010.
