Clifford Chance and HFW act as Greece offloads €535m stake in gas transmission operator
The deal will see the privatisation of the remaining stake in gas operator Desfa
July 24, 2018 at 06:54 AM
2 minute read
Clifford Chance (CC) and HFW are advising on the sale of Greece's gas transmission operator for €535m (£477m).
Greek state asset manager Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) and Balkans-based energy group Hellenic Petroleum (HP) are selling their combined 66% stake in Greek natural gas transmission system operator Desfa to a consortium of three European companies. HRADF is selling 31% and HP is selling 35%.
HRADF agreed the sale to the trio of companies – Snam S.p.A., Enagás Internacional S.L.U. and Fluxys S.A – based in Italy, Spain and Belgium respectively, this week.
The deal puts the majority of Desfa into private hands, with the remaining 34% owned by DEPA – Greece's state-owned public gas company.
HRADF manages many of the Greek state's key assets, including Athens International Airport and 14 regional airports, as well as oil interests such as the Public Gas Corporation.
HFW is advising HRADF on the sale, with its team led by corporate partner Alex Kyriakoulis.
CC is advising both sellers – HRADF and HP – on EU law matters and the tender procedure, with the magic circle firm's team led by Brussels-based EU law and antitrust partner Anastasios Tomtsis, who was supported by counsel Michel Petite and associates Georgios Yannouchos and Francesco Pasquarelli. Athens firm Koutalidis advised on the Greek law aspects of the deal.
CC is a longstanding adviser to the Hellenic Republic, advising on its €10bn (£8.1bn) bond buyback scheme, HRADF's proposed extension of the concession of Athens International Airport, as well as taking lead roles on a covered bond programme for Greece's Piraeus Bank in 2011.
Athens-based corporate law firm Kiriakides Georgopoulos acted for the consortium purchasers in the deal.
HRADF said the sale of its interest in Desfa – which has responsibility for the operation, management, exploitation and development of Greece's natural gas system and its interconnections – was "of particular strategic importance…for the energy sector of Greece" and bolsters Greece's strategic position as an "important international energy hub for natural gas".
Photo credit: Christophe Meneboeuf
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