Gazprom has decided to sell the 37.1% stakes it held in Lithuanian gas companies, Lietuvos Dujos (gas utility) and Amber Grid (gas transmission).
Gazprom's interest in Lietuvos Dujos will be sold to Lietuvos Energija, while its stake in Amber Grid will be sold to another state-owned holding, EPSO-G. Those two companies had acquired E.ON's 39% stakes in the gas utilities in May 2014 and offered Gazprom to divest its 37.1% interest for a combined sum of €141m. With these transaction, state-owned companies Lietuvos Energija and EPSO-G will each hold 93.7% of Lietuvos Dujos and Amber Grid.
Gazprom has been under a growing pressure from the Lithuanian authorities in the framework of the transposition of EU unbundling and competition rules, which plan that gas transmission activities and control should be totally unbundled by 31 October 2014. Earlier in June 2014, the company was fined €35m over competition issues.
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