The Delmi board of directors is convened for tomorrow and could reach a common understanding for the reorganization of Edison after months of divisions and uncertainties. The situation was unblocked by the newfound unity in A2A in yesterday's management board which, after the halt by the Municipality of Milan, unanimously resolved the will to resume negotiations with Edf on the basis of the agreement of last March, opposed by the Government.
The Supervisory Board of the utility born from the union of the municipal companies of Milan and Brescia was also held today and should ratify the decision. At the end of the meeting, councilor Bruno Caparini said that “nothing has been decided yet, a meeting between Henri Proglio, CEO of EDF, and Minister Romani is expected”. Tomorrow all the other Delmi shareholders will perhaps join A2A, the reference shareholder of the Italian structure with 51% (followed by Iren with 15%, Sel and DolomitiEnergia 10% each, Crt 6%, Mediobanca 5% and Bpm 3%). Edison is instead the main shareholder with 50% of Edipower (followed by A2A and Alpiq with 20% each and Iren with 10%). After six months and two extensions to the Delmi-EDF union pact, the Italian consortium to prevent the production plants from ending up in French hands has not gained share.
On the other hand, the white knight has not really been seen on the horizon: in recent days, even the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, after the lump sum of Intesa Sanpaolo, has ruled out the possibility of its possible investment in the energy company. Once the "Zuccoli award", as the project for the consortium was called, Edipower starts the unpacking with Edison which ends up in Edf. On the other hand, it is the French who have the money and the will to invest: the local administrations that are shareholders of A2A and of the other shareholder utilities are instead more concerned about not seeing the flow of dividends dry up and therefore unwilling to embark on a game for the Edipower plants which could prove too expensive.
Among the minority shareholders is above all Iren, which has invested around half a billion euros in Edison and Edipower, which has repeatedly expressed a certain unease about how A2A handled the negotiations with Edf and which tomorrow could regroup its position in the face of possible greater involvement. In fact, the chairman of the Management Board of A2A Giuliano Zuccoli said yesterday, "Iren is a little disturbed by the fact that she perceives that there has been a direct line between us and Edf and there are doubts that perhaps solutions have not been explored always above the parties”.
According to Zuccoli, a representative of Iren will probably enter the negotiation with Edf, joining the president of A2A himself and the general manager Renato Ravelli. The put node remains on the table, the option to exit the minority stake with which the Italian shareholders would remain in Edison. Zuccoli didn't go too far: "Asking for a minimum value is not in our style – he said -. I think a 'floor' needs to be handled with care these days. I think it more reasonable instead to arrive with a put proposal, I don't think the price range is a necessity, it is the result of the negotiation”. The Stock Exchange rewards stocks in view of a possible clarification of the future of the restructuring: A2A rises by 1,49% and Edison by 1,75%.
