Gazprom sells its share in Eesti Gaas
Today Trilini Energy OÜ (a subsidiary of AS Infortar) has concluded the agreement with Gazprom for purchase of 37% of AS Eesti Gaas shares. If the contract comes into force and is approved by the Competition Board, Trilini Energy ownership in Eesti Gaas will increase to 88%.
“We are moving forward according to the plan – in February we purchased 51% of shares from Fortum, now – 37% from Gazprom. The offer we made to Gazprom was similar to that made to Fortum,” says a member of the management board of AS Infortar and the chairman of the council of AS Eesti Gaas Ain Hanschmidt.
“As the next step of increasing our share in Eesti Gaas we will negotiate with Itera Latvija that owns 10% of Eesti Gaas shares, and then with minority shareholders,” adds Hanschmidt.
On 23 February this year OÜ Trilini Enery has concluded the contract for purchase of 51% of shares of AS Eesti Gaas with Fortum Heat and Gas OY. In March the Competition Board issued its approval for the transaction. In April the general meeting of Eesti Gaas appointed the new council that has approved Ants Noot – a former chancellor of the Ministry of Agriculture and one of the most experienced top managers in Estonia – as the chairman of the management board.
AS Infortar is an investment company with the equity capital of 404 million euros active in shipping, real estate, accommodation and printing industry sectors. In addition to 38% participation in AS Tallink Grupp, the investment portfolio of AS Infortar includes ca. 90,000 m² of various hotel and SPA real estate in Tallinn and over 350,000 m² of land in Tallinn and its surroundings. AS Infortar is the owner of AS Vaba Maa printing shop and the developer of the future multifunctional shopping and entertainment center Tallink City.
AS Eesti Gaas is engaged in sales of natural gas and electricity to home and business consumers. The group of companies consists of AS EG Ehitus that focuses on design and construction of gas pipelines and facilities and AS Gaasivõrgud that provides distribution services. The company owns five gas fueling stations in Estonia. Eesti Gaas employs 205 persons. According to unaudited data the group’s turnover for the past year amounted to 130 million euros. In 2015 AS Eesti Gaas sold 386 million m3 of natural gas and 9.7 GWh of electricity. The company has 1,570 business consumers and 41,160 home consumers.
