Greece’s PPC in a battle against funds for Enel Romania

PPC is facing tough competition for the claim of Enel Romania.

According to information, the Greek company in its first serious attempt to expand abroad has, among other things, put under its “microscope” the subsidiary of the Italian energy group that operates in Romania.

Read also: Enel: Looking for a partner for Enel Green Power in Greece

PPC, however, does not have an easy task ahead of it as, according to sources, Enel Romania is contested by three large companies. Two of them are large funds that invest in energy and not only infrastructure.

This is the Canadian fund Brookfield, which manages more than 750 billion dollars of capital and has a presence almost all over the world. It invests in RES, infrastructure, real estate and insurance funds.

The other large fund, Amber Infrastructure, comes from the United Kingdom and manages around 9 billion pounds (more than 10 billion euros).

Enel

Italian power provider Enel, as the managing director Francesco Starace announced yesterday, is withdrawing from countries where it operates by proceeding with the sale of its subsidiaries and other assets.

Enel of Romania is among them, and despite the fact that this particular market is on a growth trajectory with great scope for further penetration of RES.

The parent company took the decision to sell assets in countries around the world, after the net debt jumped to 70 billion euros. Government measures to deal with the energy crisis, the imposition of extraordinary taxes, the drop in hydroelectric production due to the drought have put Enel, which has a total of 59 GW of renewable energy projects in the world, in a difficult position.

Enel will also proceed with the sale of assets in Argentina and Peru.

Investment opportunity

For PPC, the acquisition of Enel Romania is an investment opportunity. PPC has RES of 534 MW and another 170 MW under construction in its portfolio.

Enel Romania also owns three of the eight electricity distribution companies as well as two power supply companies.

The management of PPC, as the president and CEO Giorgos Stassis announced yesterday, is looking for investment opportunities in Southeast Europe. There is information that the Bulgarian market is also on its radar.

The Greek company, sources say, wants to position itself in the Balkans by building a strategic position in the region’s energy corridor.

The attempt to break dependence on Russian energy and search for alternative sources of energy is a challenge for PPC and Greece’s geopolitical goals in the region.