RAO UES of Russia has summarised competitive procedures for selecting an adviser to provide services for supervising the process of shaping the new configuration of interregional distribution grid companies /IDGCs/. An alliance of Otkrytie Financial Corporation LLC and CJSC Raiffeisenbank Austria has been recognised as the winner, the RAO UES media relations department said earlier today. The functions of the adviser will include rendering a range of services related to the merger of regional distribution grid companies /RGCs/ into IDGCs and determining conversion ratios for converting RGC shares into IDGC shares on the basis of their market value assessed by an independent appraiser. The new IDGC configuration was approved by the RAO UES of Russia board of directors on 27 April, 2007. It provides for increasing the number of IDGCs from four to eleven /without taking the IDGC of the Far East into account/. The basis for the new configuration is the principle of territorial cohesion and comparability in terms of the value of the assets of the RGCs included in the IDGC configuration. Three new IDGCs passed state registration on 28 and 29 June, 2007: OJSC IDGC of the Volga, OJSC IDGC of the South, and OJSC IDGC of the Centre and the Volga Area. Besides, OJSC IDGC of the Centre and the North Caucasus was renamed as OJSC IDGC of the Centre, OJSC IDGC of the Urals and the Volga as OJSC IDGC of the Urals, and OJSC Southern Grid Company as OJSC IDGC of the North Caucasus. The shaping of the target IDGC structure, with the exception of OJSC Tyumenenergo, OJSC Lenenergo (LSNG) and the IDGC based on the distribution grid sector in Moscow and the Moscow Region, is expected to be over once the relevant RGCs are merged into them and their shares are converted into shares of the respective IDGC. As a result of this reorganisation, the IDGCs will be established as united operating companies with a comparable market value of assets at around 30 billion roubles. The interest of RAO UES in the authorised capital of each IDGC will be at least 50% plus one share in order for the company to retain control over them. Matters associated with the configuration of the IDGC based on the distribution grid sector in Moscow and the Moscow Region, as well as the issue of including the power system of OJSC Yantarenergo in a specific IDGC will be considered by the RAO UES of Russia board of directors no later than the third quarter of 2007. |
