SPF sets starting price for 25%+1 of Sumyoblenergo

The State Property Fund of Ukraine yesterday announced the starting price for a 25%+1 stake in Sumyoblenergo (SOEN) at UAH 4.72 per share, or UAH 209 mln for the entire stake. The tender is scheduled to take place on the Ukrainian International Stock Exchange tomorrow. Alexander Paraschiy: The starting price is 1.6x higher than we expected (Sumyoblenergo was delisted from the PFTS, muddying the methodology, which for previous Oblenergo tenders was set as the weighted average price of PFTS trades over the last six months before a tender). EV/S and EV/Electricity multiples based on Sumyoblenergo’s starting price are higher than for Poltavaoblenergo (POON), which has not been privatized in four attempts due to the relatively high price for the block. This suggests the probability of a successful Sumyoblenergo auction tomorrow is low. Among the three Oblenergos whose stakes have not yet been sold (PREN, SOEN and POON), Poltavaoblenergo has the lowest multiples based on its starting price.