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The Armenian Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure has drafted a bill seeking to declare an overriding public interest in 100% of the shares of Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA), paving the way for their takeover with prior and adequate compensation.
The Armenian government enacted emergency legislation in 2025 to take over the management of ENA, owned by Samvel Karapetyan’s Tashir Group, accusing the power distributor of mismanagement. It later announced plans to nationalize the company through eminent domain.
The draft government decision, developed by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, was published on September 9 on the Unified Website for Publication of Draft Legal Acts. The public discussion will continue until September 24, after which the draft will be submitted for a Cabinet meeting.
According to the draft, the Republic of Armenia will acquire the shares, while the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure will be the authorized body responsible for coordinating the takeover process.
May 1, 2027, has been set as the final deadline for initiating the property takeover process. The takeover must begin by July 1, 2027, and be completed by October 1.
The objectives of the takeover include ensuring state and public security, protecting consumers’ rights and legitimate interests, ensuring an uninterrupted electricity supply to the population, maintaining the normal operation of social and strategic facilities, and ensuring affordable, predictable, and equal access to energy.
According to the draft, the takeover will ensure an uninterrupted and reliable electricity supply to more than one million consumers in Armenia. It will also allow the state to exercise effective oversight of strategically important energy infrastructure.
The draft states that the temporary administration of Electric Networks of Armenia is preventive and temporary and cannot replace long-term and stable control over the company’s energy infrastructure. The proposed regulation would therefore transition ENA management from the temporary stage to a long-term solution.
According to the document, the takeover will not cause unjustified damage to the owners, as the shares will be taken over with prior and adequate compensation, in accordance with the procedure established by the Law “On Expropriation of Property for the Purpose of Ensuring Overriding Public Interests.”
After the decision enters into force, the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure must prepare a record describing the property to be taken over within two months. This deadline may be extended once for a maximum of two additional months. Within three months after the record is approved, an assessment of the market value of the shares must be conducted.
Shareholders will also have the right to submit to the Ministry, within the prescribed period, an assessment report prepared by an independent appraiser that is a legal entity resident in Armenia.
The record must include information on the type of shares, the rights and obligations attached to them, existing encumbrances, liabilities, guarantors, and risks. It must also include information on ENA’s accounting inventory, assumed rights and obligations, previous reorganizations, and the history of ownership rights over the shares, starting from the company’s privatization.
The owners of the shares or their actual holders may participate in discussions on the record. Shareholders and persons holding registered property rights over the shares may appeal the record to the Ministry or a court within one month after receiving it.
Electric Networks of Armenia has 246,423 ordinary registered shares. The nominal value of one share is 83,900 drams, while their total nominal value is 20 billion 674 million 889 thousand 700 drams.
“Tashir Capital” CJSC owns 172,496 shares, representing approximately 70% of the company, while “Liormand Holdings Limited” owns 73,927 shares, representing approximately 30%.