HEP Plin, part of Croatia’s power company HEP Group, signed a Share Purchase Agreement with the company Krakom for shares in the company Gradska plinara Krapina, by which it obtained ownership of 457 kilometres of the gas distribution network in Krapina-Zagorje County.
With this purchase, HEP Plin becomes the biggest distributor in Croatia, according to the length of the gas network in its ownership. Including this acquisition, HEP Plin will manage a total of 4,419 kilometres of gas network, supplying more than 100,000 users.
“This acquisition confirms active policy of expansion on the Croatian gas market, which has been advocated and implemented by the Management Board of Hrvatska elektroprivreda,” said Frane Barbarić, the President of HEP’s Management Board. “This is the first time HEP Plin went beyond the regional framework of eastern Croatia, where it manages a unique gas network in four counties. This presents a new challenge for the business of HEP Plin, a company with almost fifty years of experience and tradition. I am confident it will respond to this challenge successfully, to the satisfaction of all gas network users in a part of Krapina County, where Gradska plinara Krapina does business. Owing to the synergy of gas business on HEP Group’s level and a strong financial position of Hrvatska elektroprivreda, we are able to guarantee a safe, stable and good service of gas distribution to all gas users, citizens and companies.”
The takeover of Gradska plinara Krapina is a part of HEP Group’s strategy, which is directed towards further development of gas business and active participation in the process of consolidation at the Croatian gas market. HEP Plin’s long-term plans are directed towards the construction of the additional gas network and introduction of new technologies, such as remote reading and smart gas metres, which ensures the foundations for strengthening competitiveness, for further increase of customer number and the amount of distributed gas as well as the increase of service quality.
