Enel to sell Romanian arm in EUR 1.26bn deal

Enel will sell its Romanian operations to Greek group Public Power Corp (PPC) for EUR 1.26bn, the Italian utility group announced Thursday, www.digi24.ro reported. Enel has a strategy of cutting its debts and focusing on green energies, the Romanian website noted.

Enel said in a press release that the companies have “signed an agreement to sell the equity stakes held by the Enel Group in Romania to PPC for a total consideration of approximately EUR 1.26bn, equivalent to an enterprise value of about EUR 1.9bn, on a 100% basis.

Enel Group CEO and General Manager Francesco Starace said “With the sale of all our activities in Romania, we continue to implement the disposal plan that was announced during the presentation of Enel’s 2023-25 strategic plan.”

“The transaction is in line with the Enel Group’s current strategic plan, which envisages the repositioning on six core countries with higher growth potential… namely Italy, Spain, the United States, Brazil, Chile and Colombia,” the Italian company added.

PPC set to close deal in Q3

Enel said the overall transaction is expected to generate a total positive effect on Enel Group’s consolidated net debt of approximately EUR 1.7bn, of which close to EUR 100mn in 2022 and the remaining amount in 2023.

This comes alongside a cumulative negative impact for 2022-23 on reported net income of approximately EUR 1.4bn, of which around EUR 600mn is related to the release of the foreign exchange reserve to be booked in 2023.

The completion of the transaction, expected in the third quarter of this year, is subject to conditions commonly encountered in this type of agreement, including the permission of the competent antitrust authorities, www.digi24.ro wrote.

Starace expressed pride in Enel’s activities in Romania “since we entered the country in 2005 and we recognize the hard work and dedication of our colleagues, who enabled us to become one of Romania’s main integrated energy operators.

“We are confident that a leading international player such as PPC will continue this success story,” Starace added.