THE OWNERSHIP of the Czech company EPH, which controls the transit of gas through Slovakia and its distribution into households, will change. While J&T finance group and Daniel Křetínský will stay on as owners, billionaire Petr Kellner, the richest man in the Czech Republic, plans to sell his shares, the Sme daily reported.
In Slovakia, EPH is the owner of a 49 percent stake in Slovak gas utility SPP with managerial control over the company.
The Czech website Motejlek.com reported earlier on Monday that Kellner is selling his 44.44-percent stake in EPH to Daniel Křetínský, Patrik Tkáč and the J&T financial group. The transaction should yield Kellner €1.1 billion. More specifically, €1 billion of the sum will come from Kellner’s 40-percent shareholding in the company, while the rest (4.44 percent) will involve payments for all loans provided to EPH by the businessman’s PPF Group.
As further reported by Motejlek.com, although the shareholders have agreed to the arrangement, the transaction has not been signed as yet, the TASR newswire reported.
The change of ownership in EPH will have no impact on the Slovak gas utility SPP, the Economy Ministry said through its spokesperson Stanislav Jurikovič.
“The Economy Ministry knows about the ongoing changes in EPH, but we aren’t aware as yet whether this is finalised and signed,” he added.
