TAIPED gives up on DEPA
State asset fund withdraws the privatization project for national public gas corporation
State asset fund TAIPED put an end to the long-suffering privatization of DEPA Commercial on Friday, announcing the cancellation of the tender process for the sale of 65% of the natural gas company’s shares.
The tender, which began with high expectations in 2020, attracting nine investment schemes, was suspended from March 19, 2021 following a relevant decision of TAIPED. The reason for the serious obstacles were the company’s long-standing legal battle with Hellenic Fertilizers and Chemicals (ELFE) concerning the supply price of natural gas in previous years.
The vindication of DEPA Commercial by the Court of Appeal in February 2022 created a positive climate for the unfreezing of the tender process; however, ELFE challenged the decision of the Court of Appeal at the Supreme Court and was finally vindicated, after referring the case to the Court of Appeal of Athens.
After this development, the cancellation of the privatization was inevitable for TAIPED, since the retrial of the case by the Court of Appeal combined with the possibility of ELFE appealing again to the Supreme Court in case of non-justification would translate into a legal dispute lasting up to another two years.
TAIPED and the competent ministries appear to have realized they must put an end to the state of uncertainty that DEPA Commercial has been in for four years with the start of the privatization process, while the energy market is changing at the pace and requirements of the green transition and the speed of adaptation of the companies in the sector to these changes will also judge their competitiveness in the future.
“The fund will examine the conditions emerging in the domestic and international natural gas markets and will evaluate the alternative possibilities of utilizing the asset in question,” TAIPED said in its statement.
In practice, though, serious alternatives do not seem to exist. The new legal dispute with ELFE has ended plans for the sale of shares to investors via the stock market.
