CEZ, a company owned by 70% of the Czech state, could give priority to the sale of its assets in Romania later this year, announced Tuesday the largest utility company in Central Europe, as part of the program for the payment of special dividends, Reuters reports.

In June, the Bulgarian company Eurohold signed an agreement on the acquisition of CEZ assets in Bulgaria for 335 million euro (376 million dollars). The transaction is part of CEZ’s strategy to focus on the Czech market, according to Agerpres.

Chief Financial Officer Martin Novak announced that CEZ is analyzing the sale of assets in Romania, Turkey and Poland, following its exit from the Bulgarian market.

“We are also considering Romania … where we could start seriously at the end of the year. We are also looking at the assets in Poland and, of course, Turkey is always an option, if there is a good offer,” Novak said.

Earnings from the sale of assets could be used to reduce debt, invest opportunities in the Czech Republic and pay extraordinary dividends to shareholders, Czech utility officials said recently.

“We will develop a more detailed approach to earnings as we sell assets. But we will certainly ensure that our shareholders receive good dividends,” said a board member, Pavel Cyrani.

He added that CEZ is not forced to sell and the group relies on increasing the price of electricity and increasing its distribution network and energy services to counter the gains lost from the sale of assets.

Ondrej Safar, CEZ Romania country manager, said last month that the Czech utility company is not in a hurry to sell its assets in Romania and is continuing its projects here, considering that the Romanian market is one of the most stable in the region.