The sale to the Greek state of the 35% stake held by Helleniq Energy in DEPA Commercial will reportedly close in the next few hours—possibly even today. A meeting of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Energy Fund preceded yesterday's session, with the main topic being the deal that will bring 100% of DEPA Commercial to the Fund, and today the same issue will be discussed at the Hellenic Energy Board meeting.

If the go-ahead is given, an announcement will be made by Helleniq Energy to the Stock Exchange. 

THE AGREEMENT

It will be recalled that in order to get so close to the deal that will raise the state's stake in DEPA Commercial to 100%, from 65% currently, an amendment from the Ministry of Economy and Finance had been made beforehand, which gives the Hellenic Ministry of Economy and Finance the ability to make acquisitions as well, as under the statute it can only sell or lease assets.

As part of the agreement, it is envisaged that the payment of the price for 35% of DEPA will be made in instalments until it is paid in full and through the proceeds of the dividends received by the Hellenic Fund from Helleniq Energy. It is recalled that the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund, as a shareholder of 31.2% of Helleniq Energy, receives dividends from the company, which, after the completion of the deal, will be directed to repay the transaction amount. 

THE PRICE

The price is estimated to be around €200m, according to the company's accounting valuation at the end of 2023, and there are to be adjustment clauses depending on the outcome of the company's outstanding issues: 

• The first one concerns the dispute over Gazprom's €400m claims—for take or pay clauses for the 2021-2022 biennium, for which DEPA Commercial has appealed to international arbitration. However, this process is already underway, and sources on the Greek side—which has appealed the process—believe that the arguments are in its favour, while it believes that the decision expected next September will vindicate it. The reason for the appeal concerns the price at which the Russian company supplied it with natural gas in the period 2022-2023. The contract between the two companies provided for a negotiation procedure before the appeal, but this was time-consuming and did not pay off. DEPA is also seeking a retroactive price adjustment under the 2022 contract.
• The second concerns the old case of ELFE, formerly the Fertilizer Industry
• The positive or negative outcome of these cases will also determine the final amount of the acquisition.