Engie Agrees to Sell Power Plant, Gas Grid in Turkey to Palmet

(Bloomberg) -- Engie SA agreed to sell its gas-fired power plant and gas-distribution businesses in Turkey to local-grid operator Palmet Enerji AS.

The value of the acquisition isn’t being disclosed, Palmet Enerji Chairman Doganay Samuray said by phone. The deal may be finalized by April, he said.

Istanbul-based Palmet is seeking to become a leading gas operator in Turkey after losing out in the race to buy the Turkish businesses of Germany’s EWE AG in 2019.

Palmet plans to upgrade the 775-megawatt Baymina power plant near Ankara that it’s buying from the French energy firm, the chairman said. Completed in the late 1990s under a build-operate-own model for almost $700 million, Baymina hasn’t operated since its contract with the government ended in 2019.

The firm is also purchasing Engie’s gas-technology unit Engie Yonetim Enerji and Izgaz Izmit Gaz Dagitim AS, a gas grid in the province of Kocaeli, Samuray said.

Antitrust authorities said Wednesday that they’ve approved the transaction, which still needs the clearance of the nation’s energy regulator. Palmet, which also owns power plants, operates gas grids in Turkey’s Gebze and Erzurum regions.

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