The state of Latvia, through the state-owned power transmission system operator (TSO) Augstsprieguma Tikls (AST), has completed the acquisition of the 34.1% stake held by Gazprom in the Latvian gas TSO Conexus Baltic Grid. AST thus raises its interest in Conexus from 34.36% to 68.46%, while the MM Infrastructure Investment Europe fund (Marguerite Fund) holds 29.06% and other shareholders 2.48%. The Marguerite Fund is considering divesting its stake in the company to Marubeni (Japan).
Gazprom's control over the company was controversial, since the Russian company is also shareholder of the Latvian gas utility Latvijas Gaze while EU regulations mandate gas trade to be unbundled from gas transmission and storage operations. The Latvian Public Utilities Commission (LPUC) had recommended that Conexus make sure that, by 2020, Gazprom does not have any direct or indirect control over its activities.