MET Offloads Stake in Hungarian Gas Distributor

Swiss-based MET Group has agreed to sell its 49.6% stake in Hungarian gas distributor Tigaz to local holding company Opus Global, with the deal on track for closure on March 31, MET said in a statement on March 12.

MET is also buying a 77-MW ready-to-build photovoltaic power project from Opus in the Hungarian municipality of Buzsak. The plant is expected to produce 83.7 GWh of electricity annually. MET is looking to build a renewables portfolio more than 500 MW of capacity in size by 2023, comprising solar and wind projects across central and east Europe.

The price tags of the deals were not disclosed. Tigaz operates in seven counties of Hungary , supplying over 1mn users with a pipeline network 33,760 km in size, according to its website.

MET recently snapped up  48-MW and 43-MW solar projects in Hungary, which also have ready-to-build statuses. Construction is due to start in the second or third quarter of this year. These two plants and the Buzsak station will provide electricity to over 90,000 households.