Record international investor interest for the PPC is being recorded at the start of the tender for the sale of 49 % of the Operator's shares, announced last week by the PPC.
According to information from competent sources, PPC's advisors for the transaction have approached 70 potential investors of which 19 have responded positively, a number that has never been seen before in a market test for a Greek company. The potential investors who have responded, with whom meetings have been set up for clarifications and information on the sale process, include major European and international electricity companies and network operators as well as international financial houses.
According to the same sources, the high interest is attributed to two factors: on the one hand, the favourable international and domestic situation (despite or even because of the pandemic) and on the other hand, the positive prospects of the electricity network management sector.
In particular, the uncertainty associated with the pandemic and the low interest rate environment globally have made network industries operating under guaranteed returns particularly attractive. Interest in mergers and acquisitions in this market has increased, resulting in increased competition among potential buyers and an expected increase in valuations for sellers. An additional factor for our country is the decline in Greek bond yields to historically low levels, reflecting the improvement in investor confidence.
According to the tender notice published last week, interested investors are invited to express their interest by 29 January. Those who meet the technical, financial and legal criteria set will qualify for the next phase and will be invited to submit a binding offer, estimated by the end of June. PPC plans to use the proceeds from the sale of 49 % of shares in DEDDIE to reduce its debt (it was €3.9 billion as of September 30) and to finance investments in renewable energy. According to PPC's business plan, the renewable energy production capacity is expected to increase to 1.5 gigawatts in 2023 from 200 megawatts last year. The company's debt in the same year (2023) is projected to be limited to three times its operating profit, while in 2019 PPC owed 11 times its operating profit.
