Enel could abandon sale of Romanian assets

Italy’s power group could give up the announced sale of its domestic assets, as the targeted amount to be raised, 1.8 billion euro, it is little likely to be obtained, according to official sources quoted by Agerpres.

“Enel has to dispose of assets to cover some debts and needs 1.8 billion euro from selling the three distribution companies held in Romania. Based on our assessment, they will not possibly get more than 1.2-1.3 billion euro”, they say, reads the newswire.

The same sources revealed that Enel requested a 500 million euro bonus for selling the three companies which have a large combined market share as a package. Yet, such a transaction is not possible, they say, as the privatization was carried out separately and the corresponding contractual terms are different. However, it seems Enel had an offer from a Chinese company willing to pay the said bonus, too, but the Romanian State does not agree with such a transaction as it would include Enel Dobrogea and there is a US military base in the area.

Nuclearelectrica and Electrica have expressed interest in Enel’s assets, but according to the same sources, E.ON and Electricite de France are also interested in these operations.