YEREVAN, September 26 (RIA Novosti, Gamlet Matevosyan) - The Armenian government has authorized Midland Resources Holding Ltd., a British company, to sell its 100% stake in Armenian Electricity Networks (AEN) to Russia's Unified Energy Systems (UES), a spokesman for the Armenian Energy Ministry said Monday.
In accordance with Armenian energy legislation, Midland Resources requested permission from the Armenian government and the Public Services Regulatory Commission of Armenia to sell its stake to Interenergo B.V., an offshore subsidiary of UES.
Midland Resources had acquired 100% of AEN shares at $40 million and lent the shares to Interenergo for a 99-year term in June at an estimated cost of $73 million, while retaining ownership of the stock.
Interenergo is a joint venture of UES subsidiary Inter UES (60%) and state-owned Rosenergoatom (40%), the world's largest nuclear energy company.
Inter UES, an import-export electricity operator, has electricity supply contracts with Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, China, Moldova, Mongolia, Lithuania, Latvia, Norway, Russia, Ukraine, and Finland. The company also manages energy facilities in Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, and Russia.
