Romanian state sues state electricity holding for EUR 800 mln

The company that manages the state’s holdings in energy companies – SAPE filed a lawsuit against local electricity holding Electrica asking for EUR 800 million damages. SAPE claims that the damages have resulted from the fact that Electrica failed to monitor if the investors who bought its privatized subsidiaries fulfilled their obligations. SAPE spun off from Electrica in 2014, before the group was listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The new firm took over Electrica’s minority stakes in the subsidiaries that had been privatized in the past while Electrica remained with the majority stakes in three electricity distribution companies (Electrica Muntenia Nord, Electrica Transilvania Sud, and Electrica Transilvania Nord) and in electricity supply company Electrica Furnizare. The state has had problems in selling the minority stakes in the former Electrica subsidiaries that had been privatized in the past. Electrica serves some 3.68 million clients. The company is still controlled by the state, which holds almost 49% of its shares. editor@romania-insider.com