OREANDA-NEWS. The Board of Directors of RAO UES approved the sale of the 25.03% stake held by RAO "UES of Russia" in OAO "WGC-5". This step is intended to attract a strategic investor and raise investments in the company and electricity sector.

The shares will be sold as a single lot through a public auction to be arranged by an independent agent. The auction start price will be equal to the fair market value of RUB24.658 billion determined by an independent appraiser.

After the sale, the stake held by RAO "UES of Russia" in OAO "WGC-5" will decline to 50 percent from 75.03 percent.

The auction is to be held in Q2 2007 after expiration of the lock-up period which started on 10 November 2006 (the date of WGC-5 public offering).

OAO "WGC-5" comprises the Konakovskaya TPP, Nevinnomysskaya TPP, Reftinskaya TPP, and Sredneuralskaya TPP. The installed capacity of the company's power plants is 8,672 MW.