By Francesca Landini and Giancarlo Navach MILAN, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Edison's green investments will increase the Italian utility's borrowing, its CEO told Reuters, adding that parent company EDF aims
Edison Boosts Green Investments; EDF Considers Stake Sale
By Francesca Landini and Giancarlo Navach
MILAN, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Edison's green investments will increase the Italian utility's borrowing, its CEO told Reuters, adding that parent company EDF aims to sell a minority stake in the wholly-owned unit to avoid a rise in its own debt pile.
The Italian utility said earlier on Thursday it would start working on renewable projects with a combined capacity of over 500 megawatts (MW) next year, investing more than 600 million euros ($700 million) to roll out wind and solar farms in its home country.
"EDF has many investments to make in France, especially in the nuclear sector, and therefore the intention to open up (our) capital - only for a minority stake - is precisely to allow Edison to implement its development plan without burdening EDF's consolidated debt," Edison CEO Nicola Monti told Reuters in an interview.
EDF's advisers are currently studying ways to reduce the parent company's shareholding in Edison capital, with some indications expected early next year, Monti said, adding that EDF had not changed its plans to retain a majority in the Italian unit.
Italian media had recently reported that national infrastructure fund F2i could set up a consortium of investors seeking to ultimately acquire the majority of Edison.
"There is an ongoing process to evaluate the options for opening up the capital, which essentially means either a return to the stock market or a partnership with some third party," Monti said, underlining that EDF's management had repeatedly said that this would be for a minority stake only.
Edison reported revenues of 15.4 billion euros ($18 billion) and core profit of 1.7 billion euros last year.
Under the leadership of new CEO Bernard Fontana, state-owned EDF has picked Intesa Sanpaolo IMI and Lazard to review its assets.
EDF could end up selling around 30% of its Italian subsidiary, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.
Edison plans to accelerate renewable development in Italy, aiming to double its green capacity to 4-5 gigawatts by 2030 from the current 2 GW, Monti said, adding Edison would continue to participate in auctions to win Italian government incentives for green power capacity.
Italy on Monday wrapped up its first auction under the so-called FER X incentive scheme, awarding 400 megawatts of renewable capacity to Edison, Monti said.
($1 = 0.8572 euros)
(Editing by Giulia Segreti and Keith Weir)
