“I am happy that we have managed to bring the Agreement to a successful end, and that the Parties duly fulfilled the conditions precedent. Now there are no obstacles that would prevent the amount from being transferred to our account,” says Daniel Beneš, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of ČEZ. According to the Settlement Agreement, the CEZ Group will receive a compensation of EUR 85 million for the receivables settled and for the equity stake in the distribution company; the company has already received another EUR 15 million. The amount will be paid out in annual instalments until 2018, with the instalments being secured by a guarantee of a renown European bank. On the effective date of the Agreement, a 76% ownership interest held by ČEZ in the distribution company was transferred back to the Albanian Government.

“With the Settlement Agreement being effective, we will be able to obtain the funds much earlier than if we had to wait many years for the outcome of an arbitration proceeding,” Beneš added. Following the effective date of the Agreement, the arbitration initiated by ČEZ against Albania in May 2013 on the grounds of unprotected investment in the distribution company will be stopped.