Page 10 - BNE_magazine_02_2020

10 I Companies & Markets bne February 2020
Hungary's state electricity company MVM takes 100% stake in the largest coal-fuelled power plant in the country
Hungary’s state electricity company buys out loss-making power plant from oligarch
bne IntelliNews
Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE)-listed Opus Global, owned by Hungarian oligarch Lorinc Meszaros, signed a contract on the sale of its 72.66% stake in Matrai Eromu to state-owned electricity company MVM on December 23. The transaction could be closed in Q1 pending regulatory approval from Hungary and the EU.
MVM, holding a 26% stake before the deal, will take full ownership of Hungary’s second-biggest power plant and the largest coal-fired one with 500MW capacity.
The company employs more than 2,000 people directly and employs more than 5,000 including its suppliers.
MVM will take control of lignite mining rights, which will strengthen the country’s energy independence, the company said.
Opus partnered with Czech utility company EPH to acquire the 72.66% stakes in Matrai Eromu from Germany's RWE and EnBW in the spring of 2018.
www.bne.eu
A few days later Opus agreed to buy out its Czech partner's stake in the power plant.
The sale comes as no surprise to industry insiders as the preferential agreement with former owner RWE on carbon prices will expire in 2021.
“MVM, holding a 26% stake before
the deal, will take full ownership of Hungary’s second-biggest power plant and the largest coal-fired one with 500MW capacity”
The company has saved billions of forints as a result of securing EUA (European Emission Allowances) prices as low as €5-6 per tonne, well below the €26 per tonne market price. Some analysts project prices to accelerate to above €40, which