MVM Magyar Villamos Muvek Zrt. has put in a final bid for E.ON SE (XTRA:EOAN)'s Czech innogy SE (XTRA:IGY) retail operations as it seeks to expand in central Europe, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gyorgy Kobor told Reuters. “For us, the Czech Republic is one of the region's most important target countries,” Kobor said in an emailed reply to questions.

A Czech newspaper reported in May that MVM could team up with the biggest Czech energy group CEZ for a bid and split gas and electricity customers. A CEZ spokesman said the company was not in the bidding. Kobor said MVM was on its own.

“We see ourselves as a prospective buyer for the entire retail segment, and we submitted our bid with this in mind as expansion and the strengthening of market positions are key for us,” he said. E.ON declined to comment on bids, which sources said were due last May 29, 2020. “We are actively seeking cooperation and investment opportunities in the region, including in the countries of the Central and Eastern Europe and Balkans regions,” Kobor added.