Energy, EU – Baltic States, Funds, Gas, Investments, Latvia, Legislation

A spokesperson for Marguerite Fund told LETA that it would not comment the amount of the deal, nor the fund's plans for Latvijas Gaze.

The shares were sold by German company Uniper Ruhrgas International GmbH, previously known as E.ON Ruhrgas International GmbH.

Uniper Ruhrgas International GmbH will retain 18.26% shares in Latvijas Gaze.

The Marguerite Fund (2020 European Fund for Energy, Climate Change and Infrastructure) is a pan-European equity fund that acts as a catalyst for key investments in renewables, energy and transport.

Launched in 2010, with the backing of six major European financial institutions (namely the EIB, Caisse des Depots et Consignations, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Instituto de Credito Oficial, Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau, PKO Bank Polski), it makes capital-intensive infrastructure investments.

Meanwhile, Uniper Ruhrgas International GmbH has been a shareholder in Latvijas Gaze since April of 1997.

At the moment, the largest shareholder in Latvijas Gaze is Russia's Gazprom with 34% shares, followed by Marguerite Fund with 28.97% shares, Uniper Ruhrgas International GmbH with 18.26% shares, Itera Latvija Ltd. with 16% shares, and 2.8% shares owned by smaller shareholders.

As reported, E.ON Ruhrgas announced more than a year ago that it would sell its stake in Latvijas Gaze and withdraw from the Baltic market altogether. The German company has already sold its shares in the Lithuanian, Estonian and Finnish energy companies.

LETA also reported, Saeima is currently reviewing amendments to the Energy Law, which envisage gradually opening up the gas market until April 2017, as well as the break-up of Latvijas Gaze.

In 2014, Latvijas Gaze earned EUR 32.03 million in net profit, which was 0.4% less when compared to 2013, when the company posted EUR 32.15 million in profit. The company's net profitability was at 6.4% in 2014 compared to 5.6% in 2013.