Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets to acquire CEZ Group assets in Romania

Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA), part of global financial services organisation Macquarie Group, said on Friday that a consortium led by Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 6 (MEIF6) has reached an agreement to acquire power assets owned by Czech energy group CEZ in Romania.

The integrated energy infrastructure portfolio which is to be acquired from CEZ comprises an 86,665 km regulated electricity distribution network, an electricity and gas supply business with 1.4 million residential and industrial connections in soutwestern Romania, as well as a renewable energy platform, with 622 MW of primarily onshore wind farms, Macquarie said in a press release.

Completion of the transaction is subject to receipt of customary regulatory approvals, Macquarie said, adding that the terms of the transaction have not been yet disclosed.

"Romania is one of Europe’s most dynamic economies, and its energy infrastructure is critical to supporting the country’s long-term growth and low-carbon transition. We are delighted to announce this investment and we look forward to supporting this critical infrastructure business as it invests to deliver more reliable, efficient, safe, and sustainable electricity to the communities it serves," MIRA head for EMEA region Leigh Harrison said.

"With the acquisition by MIRA, we are looking forward to building on these results with an experienced long-term investor that will support our business going forward," CEZ Romania CEO and president of the management board Ondrej Safar said.

In a separate press release issued on Friday confirming the sale, CEZ Romania said that the transfer of assets from Romania is part of the new strategy of the CEZ Group to withdraw its selected assets from certain countries. CEZ Group is currently in the process of selling its assets in Bulgaria and Poland as well.

According to CEZ Romania, the sales agreement covers all three business segments included in the transaction: electricity distribution, energy supply and the renewable energy operational portfolio. The 7 companies targeted by the transaction are: Distributie Energie Oltenia, Ovidiu Development, Tomis Team, MW Team Invest, CEZ Vânzare, TMK Hydroenergy Power and CEZ Romania.

CEZ Group will remain active in Romania, focusing on energy trading through CEZ Trade and on energy services through High-Tech Climate, it said.

Macquarie is an Australia-headquartered global financial services group operating in 31 markets in asset management, retail and business banking, wealth management, leasing and asset financing, market access, commodity trading, renewables development, investment banking and principal investment.

MIRA is part of Macquarie Asset Management - the asset management arm of Macquarie Group. MIRA is managing the operation and development of electricity distribution networks in Australia, Austria, Finland, Spain, and the United States. The group is also a major investor in clean energy, managing investments in 12.4 GW of green generation capacity globally across onshore and offshore wind, solar PV, hydropower, geothermal, and energy from waste.

The sale process of CEZ assets in Romania was officially launched on September 9 last year.

CEZ Group has been present on the Romanian market since 2005, with the takeover of the electricity distribution company Electrica Oltenia.

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