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The Sunday Business Post has learned that Endesa,
the Spanish energy conglomerate, has emerged as the lead bidder
in the battle to buy two power stations from the ESB in a
€450 million deal.
Endesa was one of five bidders shortlisted by the ESB, which
is selling a number of power stations and sites as part of
a competition pact with the Commission for Energy Regulation
(CER). It’s understood that Endesa has been in talks with
the ESB in Dublin in recent days.
Senior sources said Endesa had emerged as the preferred bidder
in the process after tabling the most attractive bid. Bids
were lodged in early June and the ESB hopes to complete the
divestment by the end of this month.
The Spanish firm offered the ESB around €450 million for
the power stations in Tarbert in Co Kerry and Great Island
in Co Wexford, which have a combined capacity of 806 megawatts.
As part of the proposed deal, the Spanish company is also
set to acquire two further sites with permits for future power
plants in Rhode and Shannonbridge in Co Offaly.
The ESB has also committed to selling two other plants as
part of its deal with the CER - Poolbeg Thermal in Dublin
and Marina Steam Turbine in Cork. They are not believed to
be part of this deal and will be auctioned off at a later
date.
The other companies to be shortlisted are understood to be
Bord Gáis (in partnership with International Power), British
private equity group Star Capital, Irish energy company Viridian
and US energy giant AES.
Endesa is the largest electricity provider in Spain and the
number one private sector multinational electricity utility
in Latin America. It is also a major operator in the Mediterranean
region, particularly in Italy.
The ESB agreed to sell the stations after striking a deal
with CER over energy competition in Ireland. As part of the
deal, the semi-state company has been given the go-ahead to
build a €200 million power plant in Co Cork.
The ESB announced last week that it is to make a once-off
€300 million contribution to the cost of electricity, aimed
at offsetting forthcoming price increases due to rising international
fuel costs. The organisation also announced after-tax profits
of €432 million for 2007, from a turnover of €3.5 billion
- the largest in the company’s history (Click
Here).
Source - The Sunday Business Post
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