Enel Russia might use proceeds from Reftinskaya power plant sale to buy back commercial papers
MOSCOW. Aug 10 (Interfax) - Enel Russia might use part of the proceeds from the sale of its Reftinskaya GRES power plant to buy back exchange-traded commercial papers, business daily Vedomosti reported on Wednesday, citing two sources close to different sides of the negotiations on the sale.
"This is not the only option," the paper quoted one source as saying. This is what Enel Russia wants, but it is not required by law, the source said.
Enel Russia is obligated to buy back its back commercial papers in the event of a delisting, the prospectus for a securities issue being approved by the Central Bank states.
"Since the sale process is ongoing we are not disclosing any detail on the process," the power company's press service told Interfax.
There are currently three Enel Russia bond issues traded on the Moscow Exchange , totalling 10 billion rubles. The first two, totaling 2 billion rubles and 3 billion rubles, were placed at the beginning of June 2015 and have maturity of 10 years and a coupon rate of 12.1%. The date of the put option for both issues is May 31, 2018. The other issue, with maturity of three years and also with a coupon rate of 12.1%, was placed in early October 2015.
Italian energy group Enel is considering selling the coal-fired Reftinskaya GRES, and UBS is the agent in the sale. Enel Russia is not currently considering selling other plants in Russia, and said it does not plan to sell all of its plants and leave the market.
Bids for the plant have been submitted by a Chinese company (possibly Huadian), Andrei Melnichenko's Siberian Generating Company (SGC) and state power company Inter RAO , several sources told Interfax. One source close to Inter RAO, however, said that this company is not interested in the plant. Enel Russia has not commented on who has submitted offers and at what price. SGC and Inter RAO also have not commented on whether they submitted bids and at what price.
One source said representatives of the Chinese company have already visited the plant for an inspection. They are being represented in negotiations by Credit Suisse, another source said. The Chinese investor may have offered about 19 billion rubles for the plant, while the prices offered by other bidders are around 15 billion rubles, the source said.
Enel owns 56.43% of Enel Russia, which is registered in Yekaterinburg and has generating plants - Nevinnomysskaya, Konakovskaya, Sredneuralskaya and Reftinskaya - in southern and central Russia and in the Urals.
