Reuters: Russia's Sintez sees potential in Greek gas

Russian energy firm Sintez Group sees Greece as a good investment opportunity and plans to bid for energy assets to benefit from an expected shift to natural gas, its CEO said. Sintez also hopes Greece will develop into a gas transit hub, CEO Andrey Korolev said in an interview.

Sintez, controlled by Russian tycoon Leonid Lebedev, is to bid for Greece's state-owned gas provider DEPA along with the natural gas grid operator DESFA. If successful, the assets would add to its portfolio which includes power-generating facilities in Russia, oil and gas field development and real estate. The energy assets are expected to be among the first big sales in Greece's privatisation drive, which is motivated by the country's need to repay debt.

The two assets could be valued at around 1.5 billion euros ($1.9 billion), a source familiar with the situation said. Non-binding bids are due by November 6. "The current moment is a very lucky one for investment," Korolev said. "It seems to me that the crisis situation simply makes the government take the proper decisions - to move to the state of transparency, introducing market conditions and raising competitiveness."  MORE