Lazard report on Eskom asset sale options due within days – Eskom chairman

Financial adviser Lazard will conclude its assessment of which assets South Africa’s state-owned power firm Eskom can put up for sale in the next few days, Eskom’s chairman Jabu Mabuza said on Monday.

“We have hired Lazard to look at what assets, if any, we can dispose of on our balance sheet,” Mabuza said on the sidelines of the FT Africa Summit in London, adding he expected Lazard to conclude their task in the next week.

“We have not hired Lazard to advice us on debt-for-equity swaps, that discussion is off the table, we are not asking any of our debt providers to swap debt for equity, including the PIC,” he added, referring to the state pension fund Public Investment Corporation.

Read: Eskom won’t need more government cash over next year – minister

Cash-strapped Eskom is critical to Africa’s most industrialised economy as it supplies more than 90% of its power and is one of its most indebted state firms.