by Maria Spiliopoulou
ATHENS, April 19 (Xinhua) -- A consortium led by Italy's Snam S.p.A. which also includes Madrid-based Enagas International S.L.U. and Belgian Fluxys S.A. won the international tender held for the privatization of Greece's natural gas grid operator DESFA, the Greek privatization agency announced Thursday.
The Italian-led consortium, which was nominated the "preferred investor" in the deal, acquired 66 percent of DESFA for 535 million euros (660 million U.S. dollars), according to a statement from the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF).
Companies involved in the process are already operating other similar networks in Europe and are participating in the construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline which will transfer Azeri natural gas from the Caspian Sea to Western Europe, the Greek fund added.
The first international tender for the sale of a majority stake in DESFA in a wide privatization program Greece launched in 2010 as part of efforts to address the debt crisis was won in 2013 by Azerbaijan's state-owned oil company SOCAR.
SOCAR had initially offered 400 million euros, but the two sides eventually failed to strike an agreement over the final terms of the transfer. (1 euro = 1.23 U.S. dollars)
