Poland close to buying PKP Energetyka from CVC Capital Partners -ruling party leader

WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland is about to finalize the takeover of PKP Energetyka – one of the country’s biggest energy groups and electricity supplier to the national railway – from buyout group CVC Capital Partners, the Polish ruling party leader said on Wednesday.

Since taking the power in 2015, the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government took steps aimed at increasing control over certain parts of the economy, including energy, banking, and media sectors.

“Among our tasks … was to recover these most strategic parts of our economy from the hands of external capital,” Jaroslaw Kaczynski said during a meeting with voters.

“At the moment, a decision has probably been made, that these electric networks of railway lines … (that the company) will be bought back in a very short time, from one of the American funds,” he added.

He also said that Poland might also take over the Zabka chain store from the same fund. CVC had agreed to buy this, one of Poland’s biggest retail chains, from Mid Europa Partners, another private equity firm, in February 2017.

Also on Wednesday, Polish state assets minister Jacek Sasin was quoted as saying by local media that Poland’s biggest utility PGE was finalizing a deal aimed at taking over a company important for the country’s energy security.

CVC Capital Partners, PGE, and State Assets Ministry were not immediately available to comment.

CVC bought PKP Energetyka from the state-owned railway firm in 2015 for 1.97 billion zlotys ($393.90 million), including debt.

The Law and Justice party, which won the parliamentary election later that year, tried to annul the transaction in court, saying selling assets such as PKP Energetyka contravened Poland’s national security interests.

($1 = 5.0013 zlotys)

(Reporting by Anna Koper; Editing by Nick Zieminski)