Vattenfall to divest itself of electricity networks and district heating plants in Finland

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The Swedish state-owned energy company Vattenfall plans to divest itself of its electricity network and district heating operations in Finland.
      Reuters news agency reports that the deal is worth billions. Hannu Kostiainen, the CEO of Vattenfall’s Finnish operations, confirms that the company has informed possible potential buyers.
     
About 400,000 people live in areas served by Vattenfall’s electricity and district heating services. Kostiainen says that the company has a 12 per cent market share in electricity distribution in Finland.
      The turnover of the operations that are being sold off is about EUR 300 million.
      Vattenfall will continue to sell electricity in Finland in spite of the selloff. Ten small hydroelectric plants, the largest of which is Pamilo, near Joensuu, will also remain in Vattenfall’s hands.
     
Reuters says that offers for the electricity networks and the district heating plants are expected to be made by Goldman Sachs and the Ilmarinen insurance company, as well as EQT and Macquairie.
      Timo Ritakallio, the deputy CEO of Ilmarinen would not comment on the report.
      Vattenfall, which is the largest energy company in the Nordic region, sold its heating unit in Poland in August in a deal worth nearly EUR 2 billion. Already then there was speculation that the company was looking for a buyer for some of its Finnish operations.
     
Last year Vattenfall said that it was concentrating on its three main market areas – Sweden, Germany, and The Netherlands, and that it would reassess its other activities.
      Vattenfall is Finland’s second-largest distributor of electricity, right after Fortum. It has 347,000 customers.
     


Links:
  Vattenfall
  Reuters news article on the prospective sale

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