Electricity Networks of Armenia to be owned by four Armenian businessmen, newspaper says
18.09.2015,
13:45
The Armenian daily ‘Haykakan Zhamanak’ (Armenian Time) says in a today’s story that after Russian energy conglomerate Inter RAO asked the Armenian government to allow it to sell the debt-ridden Electricity Networks of Armenia (ENA) power distribution network to the Cyprus-registered Liormand Holdings Limited, news began emerging that the latter is owned by a Russia-based ethnic Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan.
YEREVAN, September 18. / ARKA /. The Armenian daily ‘Haykakan Zhamanak’ (Armenian Time) says in a today’s story that after Russian energy conglomerate Inter RAO asked the Armenian government to allow it to sell the debt-ridden Electricity Networks of Armenia (ENA) power distribution network to the Cyprus-registered Liormand Holdings Limited, news began emerging that the latter is owned by a Russia-based ethnic Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan.
The daily recalls that Karapetyan’s Tashir Group was reportedly close to buying the ENA this spring.
According to the story, Samvel Karapetyan will buy 50% of the shares of the facility, while the other 50% will be distributed among three wealthy Armenian businessmen - Gagik Tsarukyan, former head of the Prosperous Armenia Party, Karen Karapetyan, former head of ArmRosgazprom gas distribution company (now Gazprom Armenia) and a former member of the National Assembly of Armenia Harutyun Pambukchyan.
Citing its reliable sources, the daily says the deal is expected to be finalized in 2016 February.
The decision to sell ENA comes less than three months after Armenia’s Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) allowed the company to raise electricity prices by almost 17 percent, which sparked two-week nonstop demonstrations in Yerevan, forcing the government to subsidize power supplies in Armenia until the end of a government-commissioned audit of the utility, meant to determine whether the ENA has been mismanaged by Inter RAO.-0-
The daily recalls that Karapetyan’s Tashir Group was reportedly close to buying the ENA this spring.
According to the story, Samvel Karapetyan will buy 50% of the shares of the facility, while the other 50% will be distributed among three wealthy Armenian businessmen - Gagik Tsarukyan, former head of the Prosperous Armenia Party, Karen Karapetyan, former head of ArmRosgazprom gas distribution company (now Gazprom Armenia) and a former member of the National Assembly of Armenia Harutyun Pambukchyan.
Citing its reliable sources, the daily says the deal is expected to be finalized in 2016 February.
The decision to sell ENA comes less than three months after Armenia’s Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) allowed the company to raise electricity prices by almost 17 percent, which sparked two-week nonstop demonstrations in Yerevan, forcing the government to subsidize power supplies in Armenia until the end of a government-commissioned audit of the utility, meant to determine whether the ENA has been mismanaged by Inter RAO.-0-
