- EBRD provides acquisition finance as Eurohold takes over CEZ Bulgaria assets
- €60 million loan will also support upgrade and digitalisation of energy distributor
- CEZ Razpredelenie to enhance governance standards and support youth education
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has extended a €60 million loan to Eurohold Bulgaria AD to co-finance the acquisition of seven subsidiaries of the Czech energy group CEZ in Bulgaria.
Eurohold is the largest Bulgarian public holding and a leading independent financial and insurance group in south-eastern Europe. It has acquired the CEZ companies for €335 million through its wholly owned unit Eastern European Electric Company.
To finance the acquisition, Eurohold raised equity and arranged a complex financing package, which included commercial and multilateral development banks.
Integrating the new assets into its business activities, the company will serve more than 7 million customers and employ more than 6,000 people in 11 countries across central, eastern and south-eastern Europe.
The EBRD loan will also finance the modernisation and digitalisation of one of Eurohold’s newly acquired companies, CEZ Razpredelenie, which distributes electricity to households and corporate clients.
As part of its cooperation with the EBRD, CEZ Razpredelenie will support the development and implementation of a tailored bachelor course at the Technical University of Sofia to help young people obtain nationally accredited certification and equip them with the skills required by the modern energy sector.
The Bank will also support CEZ Razpredelenie in building its climate governance and reporting capacity. The energy distributor aims to establish governance measures, strategy, risk management practices and disclosure in line with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.
The EBRD is a major investor in Bulgaria, where it focuses on making local firms more competitive at home and abroad, financing modern, sustainable infrastructure and developing financial products and capital markets, given the country’s plans to adopt the euro. To date, the Bank has invested more than €4 billion in the country’s economy through almost 270 projects.