Romania’s Competition Council is set to approve within days the deal under which Czech-controlled Premier Energy takes over the Evryo Group, including Distribuție Energie Oltenia, president Bogdan Chirițoiu said, according to Economedia / Agerpres.

“We’re finishing Premier, we’ll approve it. In a few days we’ll approve Premier’s takeover of the power grids in Oltenia — in essence we’re recreating CEZ. Premier has supply; now it’s buying distribution,” Chirițoiu said. He added that the authority is imposing conditions Premier has largely accepted and that the file is “very advanced.”

The main concern is vertical integration: the new group could use informational and operational advantages from controlling Distribuție Energie Oltenia (DEO) and weaken competitive pressure on affiliated supplier Premier Energy Furnizare (PEF).

For clearance, Premier Energy has offered behavioural remedies for 24 months: a ban on retaining household customers with personalised offers for 45 days after notice, separation of data flows, equal API access, non-discriminatory treatment of suppliers and the dissolution of shared-services firm Evryo Power. The Council will monitor compliance through periodic reports.

The Evryo Group purchase from funds managed by Macquarie Asset Management is valued at about €700 million. DEO runs a network of roughly 80,000 km serving about 1.5 million customers in south-west Romania. Closing is expected in the second half of 2026, subject to approvals.

In June Premier Energy signed a bridge facility of up to €825 million with J.P. Morgan and UniCredit for the deal and refinancing. The group, controlled by Emma Capital / Jiří Šmejc, already bought CEZ Vânzare in 2024 (Premier Energy Furnizare).

Source consulted: Competition Council set to approve Premier Energy – Evryo Group deal including Distribuție Energie Oltenia — Economedia.

Image: Competition Council, parliamentary meeting Oct 2026 (Wikimedia Commons, CC0).

Sources consulted: Competition Council set to approve Premier Energy – Evryo Group deal including Distribuție Energie Oltenia — Economedia.