European Commission approves joint control of Gas Distribution by Czech ČEZ and BCI

Brussels, 8 January (ČTK correspondent) - Under EU merger rules, the European Commission has approved the acquisition of joint control over Czech company Gas Distribution s.r.o. by Czech company ČEZ and Canada’s British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI). The Commission announced this today in a press release. According to the Commission, the transaction primarily concerns gas distribution and retail gas supply in the Czech Republic.

"The Commission concluded that the notified transaction would raise no competition concerns, given its limited impact on the markets where the companies are active," the EU executive said.

ČEZ announced last September the acquisition of Gas Distribution, which operates the gas network in South Bohemia and part of the Vysočina region, through its subsidiary GasNet, in which Canadian BCI also holds a stake. Gas Distribution manages a network of 4,600 kilometres of gas pipelines serving a total of 111,000 supply points. It has around 120 employees and distributed 2.8 terawatt-hours of gas in 2024.

Such transactions are subject to European Commission approval under merger control rules.

The ČEZ Group is one of the largest energy companies in Czechia. Its majority shareholder is the state, which holds around 70 percent of its shares through the Ministry of Finance.