The Czech government has made a final decision on the privatisation of its stakes in two coalmining companies

It decided to sell its majority stake in Sokolovska uhelna for 2.6 billion crowns to a company established for this purpose by the mining company's management. The government also announced it was selling its 46-percent stake in the North Moravian OKD black coal mine to its majority owner Karbon Invest for 2.25 billion crowns. Meanwhile, the Czech national power utility producer CEZ said it may team up with rival private energy firm Appian Group to buy the country's biggest brown coal mine Severoceske Doly. The government has said it may call a new tender for the sale of its 55-percent stake in the company later this year. Earlier this month, the government rejected a bid from Czech-Slovak investment bank J&T, backed by International Power and local investment group PPF. Both CEZ and Appian, which already controls a neighbouring coal mine, said they have reopened talks on a possible joint bid. CEZ already owns 37 percent of Severoceske Doly, its main supplier with an annual output of 22 million tonnes of coal. It attempted to take full control over it in the cancelled sale but the government at the time excluded CEZ from the tender.