Scaent Group secures a strategic partner within the Lithuanian electricity market

Amsterdam, Netherlands, 5 June 2008 – The Scaent Group’s Lithuanian subsidiary Scaent Baltic sold a 33% stake in the main Lithuanian independent energy trading company Energijos Realizacijos Centras (ERC) to the Finnish company RAO Nordic, a subsidiary of the Russian operator of electricity exports and imports Inter RAO UES. After the transaction Scaent Baltic retained a 49% shareholding in ERC, while RAO Nordic’s stake increased up to 51%.

“We felt it was the right time to obtain a strategic partner within the Lithuanian market, as the market is now on the threshold of its final liberalization. This partnership will help us face the coming challenges of a deregulated market with more confidence, and will ensure that the significant opportunities that lie ahead will remain well within our reach”, – commented Jonas Garbaravičius, Scaent Group Executive Vice President.

The Baltic region is desperate for opportunities to join the Nordic electricity market, due to the fact that the highest capacity power station in the region (the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant - the only nuclear power plant in the Baltic Countries) is scheduled to shut down on 31st of December, 2009 and then having to face the coming challenges of a deregulated market. However, both the Scaent Group and RAO Nordic have vast experience within the Scandinavian electricity market and, therefore, the partnership will be truly beneficial for ERC, as well as the Lithuanian economy.

“We have already enjoyed cooperation with RAO Nordic for many years and have reached a high level of mutual understanding. We are fully confident that this partnership will allow us to secure a stable electricity supply for our Lithuanian customers and will, in general, contribute to the further development of the Baltic electricity market and its connection to the Nordic market”, – added Derek McLennan, Scaent Group Executive Vice President.

Editor’s notes

About Energijos Realizacijos Centras
UAB Energijos Realizacijos Centras (ERC) is an independent supplier of electricity since 2002 when the Lithuanian electricity market was officially liberalized. Since then ERC has intensively developed trade relations with energy providers in Russia and Belarus, as well as with large-scale electricity consumers in the Baltic States and within Scandinavia. Supplementing electricity trading, ERC actively develops investment projects in the energy and real estate sectors.

About RAO Nordic
RAO Nordic Oy is a subsidiary of JSC Inter RAO UES engaged in electricity trading. RAO Nordic Oy has operated within the Scandinavian energy market since 2003 and is one of the largest companies in Finland. The company participates in the Nord Pool electricity exchange and also contracts consumers in Finland directly. All this plays an important role in successfully implementing JSC INTER RAO UES’ strategy on the Scandinavian market. RAO Nordic is a part of the Assets Management direction of Inter RAO UES and help the company maintain strong positions in the commercially attractive electricity markets.

Scaent Group
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About the Scaent Group
Since 2003 the Scaent Group has been expanding globally, initially founded in Sweden to trade electricity on the Scandinavian energy market, the Group has migrated to Norway, Finland, Ireland, the Baltic States and even further to Eastern Europe and China. Today, after five years of fast paced and successful development that has resulted in it becoming one of Europe’s leading energy market experts the Scaent Group is diversifying its interests into various spheres including Real Estate, Software, Public Services, Utilities, Construction, Prospecting, Consumer Goods Manufacturing, Retail, Publishing and Telecommunications. At present the Scaent Group has more than 10 companies and sub-groups conducting business in over 12 countries and across two continents. The Head Office is in Amsterdam and the Group is currently planning further expansion into Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, and Russia.

This release was published on openPR.