HN: GasNet, Czechia’s largest gas distributor, is up for sale

GasNet, the largest gas distributor in Czechia, is up for sale. The sale process was launched by its sole owner – an investor consortium led by Macquarie Asset Management (MAM). Hospodářské noviny (HN) reported this today, citing four sources in financial and advisory circles and the energy sector. The company could be valued at several tens of billions of crowns.

GasNet supplies natural gas to households and businesses across the Czech Republic, except for Prague and the South Bohemian Region. It operates 65,000 kilometres of gas pipelines and has more than 2.3 million customers.

According to information obtained by HN, the sale process is to be managed from London, where the investor consortium led by Australian company MAM is based. The consortium also includes British Columbia Investment Management Corporation and Allianz Capital Partners. All the companies declined to comment on the sale, HN reported.

The consortium bought a 50.04 percent majority stake in 2019 from German energy group RWE for 1.8 billion euros (CZK 46.2 billion at the time). RWE valued the company at 3.6 billion euros (about CZK 85 billion at the current exchange rate). Macquarie had already held slightly less than half of GasNet. It entered the company in 2013, acquiring a 35 percent stake, and gradually increased its share. The consortium is now the company’s sole owner.

According to Petr Dědeček, director of Patria Corporate Finance, the start of the asset sale in Czechia can be explained by the end of the investment horizon of Macquarie’s main fund. „Last year they also sold gas assets in Austria and Germany,“ he told HN. He expects the price to be slightly below ten times EBITDA, which at GasNet is more than CZK 9 billion.

The state will be watching the outcome of the transaction closely, as the sale of similarly strategic assets is subject to approval under the Foreign Investment Screening Act, the newspaper noted.

GasNet’s net profit fell to CZK 1.89 billion last year, down 35 percent year on year. The company’s revenue also declined, falling 7 percent year on year to CZK 14.4 billion. The company said its financial performance was significantly affected by the consequences of the conflict in Ukraine and the related energy crisis.