Fluxys may buy 8% stake in Desfa: SOCAR source

SOCAR's president Rovnag Abdullayev said last month that the company would be prepared to sell some of its stake to a European company.

This fits with Athens' plans under which SOCAR would buy a stake, but then sell some of it either to the Greek state or a third entity to address European Commission competition concerns.

"Fluxys expressed its desire to buy 8 percent in DESFA from the 66 percent stake that SOCAR plans to acquire," the source, who did not want to be named, said.

The potential deal, under negotiation since 2013, would involve SOCAR buying the stake for around 400 million euros ($457 million) from the Greek state and Hellenic Petroleum.

SOCAR plans to resume talks over the deal in December.

Greece's privatisation agency said in August that a deal could be agreed by the end of the year.

Greece launched a privatisation plan following the country's 2010 bailout deal but progress has been limited and new doubts about deals were raised after Greece's leftist Syriza party took power in January.

 

(Reuters)