Gazprom Energoholding might buy into RusHydro share issue
MOSCOW. Feb 13 (Interfax) - The shareholders of Center Energoholding (CEH) on Friday approved the purchase of 9.95% of OJSC RAO Energy Systems of the East (ES Vostoka) from its controlling shareholder LLC Gazprom Energoholding (GEH), CEH statements show.
The shareholders also approved the sale to GEH of new CEH shares totaling up to 1.43 billion rubles, or 2.2 billion shares with par value of 0.01 ruble at a placement price of 0.65 rubles.
A GEH spokesman told Interfax that these deals are part of plans to participate in a new share issue by RusHydro , Russia's largest hydropower company.
The spokesman declined further comment, leaving unanswered the question whether the ES Vostoka shares would be used to pay for the new shares in RusHydro.
RusHydro is placing 110 billion shares at par value of 1 ruble in exchange for 50 billion rubles for investment projects and a number of assets from the government, including 3.28% of shares in ES Vostoka. RusHydro's board earlier appraised ES Vostoka for the deal at 0.35 rubles per common share.
The price of ES Vostoka shares to be sold by GEH to CEH will be determined based on the conclusions of an independent appraiser, CEH said.
GEH now owns 0.03807% of RusHydro and CEH holds 0.3082%.
GEH is now the largest minority shareholder in ES Vostoka with a stake of 9.95%. RusHydro owns 65.75% of the company, Energy Solutions Russians (part of EOS Russia) holds 5.11%, Atonline holds 4.03% and the Russian government owns 3.28%.
In RusHydro's last new share issue, of 89 billion shares in 2011-2012, some minority shareholders of ES Vostoka took advantage of the opportunity to sell shares in the company to RusHydro; the government handed over the controlling stake in ES Vostoka to RusHydro at that time. OJSC Inter RAO UES , for example, swapped its 4.3% of shares in ES Vostoka for shares in RusHydro.
GEH owns 99.2% of CEH, which holds GEH's stakes in its main generating assets.