MILAN (Reuters) – Italy’s biggest utility Enel said on Friday it agreed to sell its equity stakes in two Peruvian assets for $2.9 billion to China Southern Power Grid International (CSGI).
Enel launched an asset sale plan in November that would narrow its focus to six core countries and cut its debt. At the end of last year, the company’s net debt was down to 60.1 billion euros ($65.49 billion) from a peak of nearly 70 billion euros at the end of September.
The deal is expected to reduce in Enel’s consolidated debt by around 3.1 billion euros this year, with a positive impact of around 500 million euros on reported net profit. No impact is seen on the group’s ordinary economic results.
Under the agreement, Enel’s Peruvian subsidiary will sell its entire stake of 83.15% in power distribution and supply company Enel Distribucion Peru and 100% of Enel X Peru, which provides advanced energy services, it said in a statement.
The price the buyer pays is subject to adjustments customary for such deals given the time between signing and closing.
The sale’s closing needs clearance from the competent antitrust authority in Peru and the approvals from Chinese authorities for outbound direct investments (ODI).
($1 = 0.9181 euros)
(Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro; editing by Barbara Lewis)
