Shareholders of Prague bourse leader ČEZ greenlight company restructuring and nationalisation

Shareholders of the Prague bourse leader, majority-state-controlled energy utility ČEZ have agreed to set up a new subsidiary of the company as part of government plans to restructure and nationalise the company.

The new company should come into existence within weeks of the approval and should incorporate several of the ČEZ branches in the first quarter of 2027. ČEZ is expected to retain a 51% majority in the new company while the rest could go public.

As IntelliNews reported in April, ČEZ is to move sales, distribution, trading and energy activities, including ČEZ Sales, ČEZ Distribution, GasNet, or ČEZ ESCO, under the new subsidiary, while the production part would move under full state control, the management told the media then.

“This step is in line with the government’s policy statement to acquire 100% of the ČEZ Group’s production assets without burdening the state budget,” ČEZ CEO Daniel Beneš was quoted as saying by the business section of online news outlet Seznam Zprávy (SZ) in April.

The process would include buying out of shares from existing shareholders, which could cost about CZK250bn (€10.3bn), Czech Radio analyst Jana Klímová estimated for Czech Television.

At the shareholders meeting on June 1, ČEZ' proposal to pay a dividend of CZK42 per share to its shareholders was also approved by the shareholders meeting in a widely expected move. The proposed dividend amounts to 80% of net profit ČEZ registered last year, or CZK23bn. 

The state controls about 70% of Prague-listed ČEZ, while the rest is owned by minority shareholders, including coal tycoon Pavel Tykač, who was active last year in increasing his minority footing in ČEZ.

ČEZ reported net profit of CZK27.4bn (€1.1bn) in 2025, which represented a drop of CZK1.7bn, or 5.8% year-on-year. The company Ebitda also fell slightly to CZK137bn, while the profit level indicated a dividend of CZK31-42 per share, or a total of CZK17-23bn for shareholders, ČEZ stated in a press release.