Edison for sale? New rumors emerge on the sale of the Italian company controlled by the transalpine utility EDF (Elettricité de France) which however has so far denied the existence of a dossier. Edf needs resources to reduce the huge debt but also to finance the big floor investment in nuclear power. Edison is one of the major Italian energy groups, active throughout the supply chain with important assets that could arouse the interest of many operators: from Eni a A2a up to the infrastructure fund F2i.
Obviously nothing has yet been defined in detail but, according to what the Sun 24 Hours, the idea is to start the sales process by mid-2023, probably shortly after the conclusion of the re-nationalization of Edf, so as to have time to define the entire perimeter of what will be the new French company . And that may no longer contemplate the Italian language.
For now it is an evaluation. But there are several elements that lead to give credence to these rumors. Let's see them in detail.
Edf: 2022 budget in red
The transalpine giant closes 2022 with the worst balance sheet in history. As the group has warned, the accounts may have suffered a decrease of around 30 billion euros compared to 2021 mainly due to problems with the nuclear power plants. Elysee's choice of renationalize the energy giant has been defined as a "necessary" public intervention to achieve greater energy independence and allow EDF to invest in nuclear expansion plan (14 new reactors by 2050) wanted by the French president Macron.
But the transalpine electricity system is facing an epochal test, after being forced to close more than half of its reactors (32 of the 56 total). Some for routine maintenance, others for detecting corrosion phenomena in pipes. The result? The outages have driven French nuclear production to a 30-year low. Now the country imports more electricity than it produces.
Edison for sale? That's what it's worth
The deal shouldn't be worth less than 7-8 billion euros and the big Italian energy companies have already sensed the deal. A couple of weeks ago the managing director of A2a, Renato Mazzoncini, had spoken about the possibility of Edison being put on the market during an interview with Reuters: “If Edison were to be put on the market – he underlined – I think it is important that it return to being Italian. There aren't many players who might be interested, but we would put our heads into it. Edison is very similar to A2A and together they would be an important player and there are many synergies to be achieved".
“If, after France has decided to nationalize EDF, it were to put Edison on the market, to avoid maintaining nationalized internal management and at the same time being a player on the market in Italy, it will remain to be seen whether it will all be put up for sale or just some assets”, he added.
In any case, we will have to wait a few months to find out more about Edison's future.
