MfD: Tykač sells Litvínovská uhelná to managers Dienstl, Fohler

Prague, March 19 (CTK) - Billionaire Pavel Tykac, the owner of mining company Czech Coal, has sold part of its group - company Litvinovská uhelna controlling the CSA mine - to the group's current managers Jan Dienstl and Tomas Fohler, daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) said Tuesday.

The information about the transaction was confirmed to MfD by Dienstl himself. He did dot disclose to the paper the exact sum for which the company was sold.

Dienstl and Fohler each bought 50 percent of Litvinovska uhelna, the price being in the order of billions of crowns, the paper said.

Tykac paid around Kc19bn for the entire Czech Coal in the past years.

Dienstl said the purchasing price will be paid with a loan and from "future profits of Litvinovska uhelna", according to MfD.

Tykac will maintain company Vrsanska uhelna, which owns the mines Vrsany and Sverma, and will also keep trade in electricity and some stakes in heat utilities and engineering companies, the paper said.

The reason behind the division of the group is the fact that part of Czech Coal that remains controlled by Tykac has agreed with company CEZ on coal supplies in the next 50 years and on an option to buy power plant Pocerady.

According to the information MfD has obtained, the two sides signed the relevant contracts on Monday evening.

"The new settlement of the ownership structure was already taken into account during the preparations of the contract with CEZ," Dienstl told MfD.

By contrast, the future of the CSA mine owned by Dienstl and Fohler is uncertain, MfD said.

Under the valid territorial limits on coal mining, coal extraction in the mine with coal reserves of about 20 million tonnes is to be stopped roughly in 2022. Dienstl would therefore like to buy power plant Chvaletice from CEZ.

However, Chvaletice is also sought by company EPH headed by Daniel Kretinsky.

Both the companies have submitted their bids. The winner should be picked in the days or weeks to come.

According to MfD's information, Litvinovska uhelna is offering over Kc4bn for Chvaletice. The price offered by EPH is not known.