A deadline for a submission of binding bids for a 24-percent stake of the state-owned Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO or ADMIE) S.A. ends on July 26, with at least two interested parties reportedly surfacing, from China and Italy, respectively.
The tender for the power transmission operator, a memorandum-mandated obligation for the Greek government, was called by the Public Power Corp. (PPC), the state-run and listed power provider that commands a dominant position in the domestic energy market.
ADMIE is expected to serve as a “litmus test” for the successful completion of a slew of other energy-related privatizations in the east Mediterranean country, including the closely watched privatization of PPC itself.
One of the primary candidates for the grid operator is, according to reports, Italy-based Terna, who had submitted a bid in a similar tender in 2014, which however, was declared null and void. The previous tender, held a year before leftist SYRIZA assumed power, was for a 66-percent stake in ADMIE.
Terna officials visited the relevant Greek ministry last week, where they reportedly confirmed the Italian side’s interest in the coming tender.
Another likely candidate, again based on reports out of the Greek capital, is the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC).
SGCC had also tabled a bid in the 2014 tender, the same year that it purchased the shares of China-based RETI. Two year earlier, in 2012, SGCC acquired a controlling stake in the Portuguese transmission operator REN.
