OREANDA-NEWS. On 13 March 2008 Deputy Head of the State Property Fund (SPF) Oleksandr Potimkov said the SPF plans to consult with Ukrainian stock exchanges in order to better organize the auction of six DisCos, namely Chernigivoblenergo, Lvivoblenergo, Prykarpattiaoblenergo, Poltavaoblenergo, Sumyoblenergo and Odesaoblenergo. The Cabinet has obliged the SPF to conduct the sales no later than July, while the precise dates of the sales should be announced by mid-April. According to Potimkov, the SPF plans to raise $0.5-0.6 bln from these DisCos in open trades.

Given the president’s wilting opposition to DisCo privatizations, we expect the auctions to take place in 2Q08. By our estimates, the market value of the 25-27% stakes up for sale totals about $0.85-0.9 bln, although presumably high interest of business groups, such as Privat Group and Energy Standard, should ratchet up their value.