Rosatom Leading Contender to Buy Slovakia’s Largest Power Company
Reports indicate that the Italian firm Enel is interested in selling its controlling stake of its Slovakian subsidiary, Slovenske Elektrarne, with Rosatom as a leading candidate to purchase this asset. The move is reportedly driven by an interest on the part of Enel to pay down debts, but implicates what is, according to the company’s website, “the largest power generating company in Slovakia and the second largest in Central and Eastern Europe.” This company coming under the control of Russia’s state-owned nuclear company, Rosatom, would constitute a significant strategic development in the economic and financial domain of the region (and for Slovakia in particular). The fact Russia’s Sberbank announced a $1.2 billion loan (7.5 year maturity) for Slovakia Elektrarne in June 2014, reportedly to complete its Soviet-designed Mochovce nuclear power plant, reinforces the likelihood that Rosatom will prevail against any other bidders in this strategic corporate acquisition.