Previous Page
OCTOBER 2013
Transactions
123 dESFa PRIvatISatIon
International law firm, and energy specialist Holman Fenwick Willan (HFW) is advising the Hellenic Republic asset development Fund on the privatisation of the Greek national gas transmission system operator, dESFa.
The disposal of the Greek State's stake in DESFA is part of the multi-billion privatisation programme being implemented by the Greek Government.
DESFA is the regulated Greek gas utility that runs the natural gas system, including over 1,200 kilometres of main and branch pipelines. It also operates the country's only LNG terminal on the island of Revythoussa, which positions Greece as an important energy transit country between the East and the West.
Under the terms of the transaction, State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) will acquire a 66% stake in DESFA from the Fund and Hellenic Petroleum (the latter has a 35% interest in DESFA) for an aggregate purchase price of EUR 400 million. The Greek State will retain the remaining 34% in DESFA.
The HFW team is led by Alex Kyriakoulis, who is advising the Fund on the M&A aspects of the privatisation. The privatisation, which is subject to various conditions, was conducted as an international tender and is an important milestone in the Greek Government's efforts to rebuild the Greek economy following the debt crisis.
Alexis Kyriakoulis commented "We are delighted to be advising the Fund on this long-running and complex transaction, which together with the recently announced decision in relation to the transportation of the Shah Deniz II gas via the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) are very significant developments for Greece and the Southern Gas Corridor generally." LM
FoRMER oWnER oF RH FREIGHt andREW BaXtER acqUIRES EURoPa WoRLdWIdE
Europa Worldwide Group, which is one of the UK’s largest privately owned transport companies, has been acquired by andrew Baxter.
Andrew was previously joint owner of RH Freight, another large independent operator who were sold to Swiss firm Kuehne + Nagel in March 2011.
Europa employ 500 people in the UK over nine branches. It also has an office in Hong Kong. In 2012 it had a turnover of £73m, carrying some 500,000 consignments. It also offers logistics, air and sea freight services.
With 18 years’ experience in the industry, Andrew has excellent industry credentials and is a trusted successor to the current owners, Russell Keep, Andrew Kennedy and Grenville Turner. They are all long standing employees of Europa who bought the business in a management buyout in 2007.
Andrew comments: “I have spent some time looking for the right opportunity and am very excited about the potential here at Europa. The company has an excellent reputation and a good track record and I want to build the business to become the clearly recognised, number one groupage operator in the UK. I also believe the company has great potential outside of its European operations, in air, ocean and logistics, and we will be looking at what we can do to further develop these businesses.” LM
"
! "
"
DESFA
Europa Worldwide