Completely unfounded. It is dry and peremptory the denial of Enel to the indiscretions published on the morning of July 4 by the Spanish newspaper The Confidential which referred to the intention of the company led by Flavio Cattaneo di sell Endesa shares, 70% controlled by Enel.
Enel's flat denial
Through an official note, the company “liquidates the rumors about Endesa as completely unfounded. Enel has no intention of selling its stakes in Endesa, either now or in the future, as the company is a fundamental asset for its strategy and informs that there are no discussions on this matter,” it reads.
It's still: "There was never any meeting between the executives of Enel and Repsol, nor with Borja Prado. This false news risks having distorting effects on the performance of the stock market”.
The indiscretion of the Spanish newspaper El Confidencial
The Spanish newspaper The Confidential had written this morning that, given the likelihood of a victory for the Popular Party on July 23 (the day on which early elections will be held in Spain, ed.), some of the top executives of large companies have started contacts to discuss merger operations. In particular, according to the Iberian newspaper, Antonio Brufau, president of Repsol, would have met Borja Prado (banker and former president of Endesa) to analyze a potential full or partial purchase of Endesa.
The indiscretion had also been taken with a grain of salt by analysts Equity: “It would be one of the largest deals in the utility sector considering the enterprise value of Endesa at around 34 billion euro, pending and to be checked with the companies involved. The sale of the entire stake in Endesa would result in the halving of Enel's debt and the repositioning of the group, which is already disinvesting in Latin America. However – they warned – both the extent of Repsol's interest (for a share or the entire stake) and Enel's effective interest in selling remain to be verified”.
Be careful too Intesa Sanpaolo analysts, according to which a possible total exit of Enel from Spain "would not be consistent with the strategic repositioning of the Italian group outlined last November by the previous management, according to which Spain would be one of the 6 core countries to focus on"
Enel's current strategic plan, in fact, does not include a repositioning in Spain but a sale of assets in Latin America to contain the debt. In detail, sales of 21 billion euro are planned, of which around 11-12 billion have already been made.
The reaction of the title
The Spanish affair peppers the stock on the Stock Exchange. The rumors first, then the denial pushed investors' attention to Enel shares, the focus of purchases right from the start of the session. Currently the stock gains 2,2% of their value by scoring one of the best performances of the Ftse Mib.
