State-run electricity trader Inter RAO will get $10 billion in generation, retail and machine-building assets from the government in exchange for shares as it seeks to become a full-cycle utility, chief executive Boris Kovalchuk said Tuesday.
Inter RAO will seek to build and operate more power plants abroad as well as acquire assets at home, Kovalchuk told reporters.
The company's board, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, this week approved the sale of 13.8 trillion new shares to state entities, more than triple its equity capital. It will swap them for stakes in energy companies held by the state-run Federal Grid Company, RusHydro and Rosatom, Inter RAO said Tuesday in a statement.
"We are changing our strategy somewhat to give more focus to Russia, but that is not to say that we will forgo our foreign expansion plan," Kovalchuk said. "We're interested in partners who have generation, retail assets in Europe and elsewhere."
Inter RAO is in talks about offering a stake of between 7 percent and 25 percent to potential strategic partners, including Enel and Electricite de France, to help it expand abroad, Kovalchuk said.
"Enel is not evaluating taking a stake in Inter RAO," the Italian utility said in an e-mailed response to questions.
The stakes Inter RAO will get for its shares include 29 generation companies, 11 power retailers, three engineering companies and stock of distribution company Federal Grid, Inter RAO said in the statement.
Inter RAO aims to acquire more assets in engineering and power machinery to add to its monopoly on Russia's electricity imports and exports, Kovalchuk said. The expansion will help Inter RAO promote sales of Russian power equipment abroad, he said.
Trading will remain a priority for Inter RAO, and the company plans to add to its power retail assets in Russia to capture more domestic electricity sales, Kovalchuk said.
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