The Court of Arbitration in Paris ruled that E.ON Romania, an integrated gas and electricity distributor and supplier, needs to pay to SAPE, the company that manages the Romanian state's portfolio in the energy sector and is 100% state-owned, over RON 4 million (EUR 884,000), plus interest rate.

E.ON needs to pay this amount as compensation for having infringed upon the rights of the minority shareholder to receive dividends.

The dispute is related to the privatization contract of Electrica Moldova, a former state-owned company active in the distribution and supply of electricity in the Eastern region of Moldova. The company was privatized in 2005, when the German group E.ON acquired a stake of 24.6% in the company for EUR 31.4 million, and then increased the capital by another EUR 68.6 million to reach a stake of 51%. Since the privatization, E.ON hasn’t paid any dividends to the former Electrica Moldova’s shareholders, including the state, although it made significant profits.

The decision of the Paris Court of Arbitration comes one week after the same court decided that the Italian energy group Enel needs to pay the Romanian state EUR 401 million for a minority stake in the former Electrica Muntenia Sud electricity distribution company.

editor@romania-insider.com