Enel leaves its activities in Romania to Greek society ppc. The Italian energy giant continues the group's maxi-divestment plan aimed at debt relief. After the first move with the sale of two assets in Argentina for 102 million dollars, the announcement came of the sale of all the activities in Romania. “The agreement – reads a note – provides that Ppc will pay a total consideration of over 1,2 billion euros, corresponding to approximately 1,9 billion euros in terms of enterprise value (referring to 100%). Furthermore, the total consideration is subject to adjustments usual for this type of transaction and to an earn-out mechanism concerning a possible additional payment based on the future value of the retail business”.
The boot was weak for the title which proposed an opening price of 5,34 euros per share and which at 10.30 lost 0,86%.
Enel's activities in Romania
As the energy group's statement recalls, in Romania Enel has been active since 2005 in the sectors of electricity distribution and supply, as well as renewable energy, with over 500 MW managed by Enel Green Power Romania, and advanced energy services. The group's Romanian distribution companies operate in three key areas of the country, specifically Sud Muntenia (including Bucharest), Banat and Dobrogea, and serve a total of over 3 million customers.
Enel Energy ed Enel Energie Muntenia they are among the main energy retailers in the country, and supply electricity, natural gas and value-added services. In Romania, the group also operates in the sectors of home services, distributed generation and energy efficiency with Enel and in the electric mobility sector with Enel X Way.
The strategic plan
The operation is in line with the group's current strategic plan to achieve "a more agile corporate structure, focused on the six "core" countries": Italy, Spain, United States, Brazil, Chile e Colombia and to sell assets in non-strategic countries to reduce debt, which at the end of 2022 had already dropped by 10 billion compared to 69,7 billion as at 30 September 2022. Most of the plan is expected to be completed by the end of XNUMX. year. The spotlight now turns on the further steps to be taken and the new ones challenges to deal with.
“The divestment of all our businesses in Romania is a further step forward in the implementation of the divestment plan announced at the presentation of Enel's 2023-2025 strategic plan,” said the CEO and General Manager of the Enel Group Francesco Starace. “We are proud of the results we have been able to achieve since our entry into the country in 2005 and we recognize the commitment and dedication of our colleagues, who have allowed us to become one of Romania's leading integrated energy operators. We are convinced that a leading international player such as PPC will be able to successfully continue the work started".
Enel sells assets in Romania: the positive effect on debt
Overall, Enel expects that the transaction will generate a total positive effect on the group's consolidated net debt. about 1,7 billion – of which approximately 0,1 billion euros in 2022 and the remainder in 2023 – together with a cumulative negative impact in 2022-2023 on the reported group net profit of approximately 1,4 billion euros, of which approximately 0,6 billion euros linked to the release of the foreign exchange reserve, to be accounted for in 2023. The completion of the sale, expected by the end of the third quarter of the current year, is subject to some usual precedent conditions for this type of transaction, including approval by the competent competition authorities.
