“Enel wants EUR500 million bonus for the joint sale of the three electricity units. Still, nobody will pay this money for the entire pack, as there are three privatization contracts with different contractual clauses,” according to the sources.
Enel, which controls a third of the local electricity distribution market, announced in July that it plans to sell, by the end of the year, its electricity, distribution and supply operations in Romania and Slovakia, as part of a debt cut program.
According to the sources, the companies interested in buying Enel assets include E.ON (Germany), EDF (France), as well as a Chinese company. State-owned companies Electrica and Nuclearelectrica also expressed their interest in buying Enel assets.
The sale would involve the 64.4% stake in Enel Distributie Muntenia SA and Enel Energie Muntenia SA, the 51% stake in Enel Distributie Banat SA, Enel Distributie Dobrogea SA and Enel Energie SA, as well as the 100% interest in the services company Enel Romania Srl (held by Enel through Enel Investment Holding BV).
In 2008, Enel paid the Romanian state EUR394.8 million for a 50% stake in Electrica Muntenia Sud. Enel later increased its stake in Muntenia Sud to 64.4% and paid another EUR38 million to the Romanian authorities.