How to buy a solar park in Hungary: due diligence, licence transfer and the state pre-emption right

To buy a solar park in Hungary, choose between a share deal, which keeps licences and support together, and an asset deal, which needs a new licence from the energy regulator (MEKH) and a support re-registration. As of October 2026, foreign investment screening may apply, and until 31 December 2026 the state holds a pre-emption right over some share sales.

What deal structures are used to buy a solar park in Hungary?

A buyer either purchases the shares of the project company (a share deal) or purchases the plant and its rights from the company (an asset deal). In a share deal the licences, contracts and support entitlement stay in the same company. In an asset deal each of them has to be moved.

Most rules below come from the Electricity Act (Act LXXXVI of 2007) and the support scheme decrees. MEKH is the Hungarian Energy and Public Utility Regulatory Authority. The two support schemes are KÁT (mandatory offtake) and METÁR (premium support).

Projects also differ by stage. A ready-to-build (RTB) project has permits and a grid contract but no plant, so the buyer carries construction risk and signs the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract. An operating park has production history and a support entitlement with a remaining term, but ageing equipment.

What should due diligence on a Hungarian solar park cover?

Due diligence covers land, grid, licences, support, permits, contracts, equipment and performance. The table gives the checks and a typical red flag.

Under the Land Transfer Act (section 9 (1)), legal persons may acquire ownership of agricultural land only in cases the Act allows, and Kinstellar noted in February 2025 that developers lease third-party agricultural land and cannot acquire the plots until the project is completed.

How do MEKH licences and approvals work for a buyer?

A buyer needs prior consent from MEKH when it reaches set voting thresholds in the holder of a generation operating licence. Holders of a combined small power plant licence only inform MEKH after the change.

The licence type depends on nominal capacity. The Electricity Act requires a generation operating licence from 50 MW and a combined small power plant licence (kiserőművi összevont engedély) from 0.5 MW up to 50 MW (section 4 (1)). A park's MWp (DC) figure can be higher than its MW figure, so confirm which rating the licence states.

MEKH can refuse consent or attach conditions if a deal threatens supply security, public safety or energy policy goals (section 95 (1)). The pledge rule matters for financing, which is covered in how banks size solar park loans.

Does KÁT or METÁR support transfer to a new owner?

Support is set per plant unit (erőműegység), not per owner. In an asset deal or a succession, MEKH registers the remaining entitlement for the new holder on request. In a share deal the holder stays the same, so nothing is re-registered.

The METÁR decree (299/2017), section 6 sets these rules:

1. On a transfer of the right of disposal over a plant unit, or on succession, MEKH sets the remaining term and supported volume for the new holder, if the legal conditions are met.
2. MEKH does this only if no exclusion ground in the decree applies to the transferor at that time.
3. A successor must apply within 30 days after the succession.
4. A transfer of the right of disposal takes effect at the earliest when MEKH registers the entitlement for the acquirer.

The KÁT decree (389/2007), section 1 (6) to (11) works the same way. For applications after 31 December 2016, KÁT entitlement can be registered only in limited cases, including unchanged entitlement on succession or on a transfer of the right of disposal. For how the schemes differ, see METÁR vs METÁROLÓ vs KÁT.

MEKH can order repayment where it finds support was paid in breach of the rules (section 19), and a share buyer inherits that exposure. The exclusion grounds in section 20 include not being a tax-debt-free taxpayer.

Can the grid connection transfer with the plant?

Yes, but only together with the plant and at an unchanged site. A generator's right to use connection capacity can be transferred "with the power plant" while the site stays the same (Electricity Act, section 60 (2)).

The same section lists cases where the right passes to the network licensee:

• Capacity is not used within two years after the commissioning date fixed in the connection contract (section 60 (5)). This matters most for RTB projects.
• Capacity is not used for two years after generation activity ends (section 60 (4)).
• For a plant of 0.5 MW or more, 24 continuous months without feed-in count as the end of the activity (section 60 (4) c)), so the two-year period can start from that point.

The connection contract can also allow curtailment. Under Annex 2, point 6.4 of Government Decree 273/2007, a network licensee may set curtailability of up to 5% of the plant's production, averaged over 10 years. The operating and distribution codes can set a higher limit, up to 100%.

When does foreign investment screening apply to a solar deal?

Foreign direct investment (FDI) screening applies when a non-EU buyer, and in some cases an EU buyer, acquires a stake or control in a Hungarian strategic company.

The general regime is Act LVII of 2018. It requires a filing before an investor from outside the EU, the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland acquires more than 25% (10% in a listed company) or dominant influence in a company active in listed areas. The list includes services under the Electricity Act, limited to the activities a government decree names (section 2 (4) and (5)).

The second regime is Chapter IV of Act L of 2025, which raised earlier emergency rules to statute level. It applies "until 31 December 2026" (section 36 (1)). It covers a Hungarian-seated company whose main or additional registered activity falls in a strategic sector, which includes energy (Annex 1). Lakatos Köves summarises the same thresholds.

The process in brief:

1. File through a lawyer within 10 days after the transaction is made (section 38 (2) and (4)).
2. The minister responsible for the domestic economy decides within 30 business days, extendable by 15 days in justified cases (section 43).
3. Without the minister's acknowledgement, the buyer cannot be entered in the share register or exercise rights from the shares (section 52 (1)).
4. A contract that breaches the chapter is void, and a fine of up to twice the transaction value can follow (sections 53 and 48).

The filing does not replace other approvals, such as MEKH's (section 38 (6)). As of October 2026 the consolidated text still limits the chapter to 31 December 2026, so check for an extension before signing a deal near year-end.

What is the state pre-emption right over solar companies?

When a notifiable sale involves a Hungarian-seated company with a registered solar generation activity, the state has a pre-emption right that ranks ahead of every other holder. It is exercised through the state asset manager MNV Zrt. within 90 business days (Act L of 2025, section 45).

Section 45 (1) covers a share sale under section 37 involving a strategic company registered with activity code 35.12 (renewable electricity generation) and a solar plant activity, as a main or additional activity. Household-size plants are excluded. The Electricity Act defines these as plants on the low-voltage network with connection capacity up to 50 kVA (section 3, point 24).

The procedure runs in these steps:

1. The parties sign a sale contract whose effect depends on the pre-emption right. The filing must state that section 45 applies and include that contract (section 45 (3) and (4)).
2. When the filing is complete, the minister tells the buyer that the pre-emption right exists. The deadlines run from this notice.
3. The energy minister has 30 business days to propose exercising or waiving the right (section 45 (5) and (6)).
4. If the proposal is to exercise it, the screening ends and the state can act within 90 business days of the notice. This is a forfeiture period (section 45 (2) and (7)).
5. If the right is waived or not raised, the minister decides on the filing within 75 business days of the notice, extendable by 15 days (section 43 (2) and (3)).

According to Telex, Government Decree 566/2023 first gave the state this right, with a 60 working-day window (the statute now sets 90 business days).

Section 45 (1) is written for sales of ownership interests. It does not mention the operating-right filing in section 37 (4), so an asset purchase by a foreign buyer follows that filing without a pre-emption step.

What do public Hungarian solar deals show?

Two announced deals show what Hungarian parties disclose.

Lumen Park Mezőtúr. On 19 December 2023, SolServices announced a new project in Mezőtúr, its first-ever market acquisition project in Hungary. Polat Holding's 2023 annual report lists the park as Lumen Park Mezőtúr, calls the acquisition the group's first fully free-market-oriented project in Hungary, and says Polat Holding sold a 50% indirect stake in the project company, Mimas Solarpark Kft., to İs Energy B.V. in 2023. Greencells announced the completion of the park on 14 August 2025: 66.3 MWp in four clusters, delivered as a turnkey solution for SolServices. These sources do not state the seller, price, deal structure or approvals. The Lumen Park Mezőtúr page has the park's facts.

Polsolar. MOL agreed on 4 December 2025 to acquire Polsolar Kft, owner of five operating solar farms near Mezőcsát (304 MWp in total), in a share deal. MOL gave an enterprise value of about HUF 118 billion, said the farms operate under KÁT with licences valid until 2048, and expected closing in the first quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approval. MOL's first-quarter 2026 results presentation reports that the acquisition closed in that quarter.

What this means for buyers, sellers and lenders

The structure decides which approvals apply, so choose it early.

• Buyers: Map approvals before signing. A share deal can need MEKH consent, an FDI filing and a pre-emption window. An asset deal can need a new licence, a MEKH support registration and a grid transfer. Set the long-stop date (the date after which either side may walk away) with these timelines in mind. A partial stake sale, like the 50% stake reported at Mezőtúr, is a share deal, so the thresholds above apply to the buyer's resulting stake.
• Sellers: Prepare the data room first: land registry extracts, the MEKH support decision, connection contract, permits and performance data.
• Foreign and EU buyers: Test the buyer's own shareholder chain against the filing thresholds in Chapter IV of Act L of 2025, and check what applies after 31 December 2026.
• Lenders: Confirm who holds the support entitlement, whether MEKH consent is needed for security, and what curtailment clauses do to cash flow.