MILAN/PARIS (Reuters) -Senior executives at EDF are meeting with investment bankers in Paris as the French utility weighs options for its Italian business Edison, including a return to the stock market, three sources said on Wednesday.
Under the leadership of new CEO Bernard Fontana, state-owned EDF has started reviewing its assets as it seeks to raise money to meet government demands for investments in new nuclear reactors.
EDF’s Italian subsidiary could look at an initial public offering, bringing on board a financial sponsor or selling a stake to an industrial partner, the sources said.
One of the people said EDF would keep a majority holding in any deal.
Edison could be worth between 7 and 10 billion euros ($8-$11.6 billion), according to two of the sources.
A listing on the stock exchange at the moment seems the most likely option to extract value without loosening the grip on the company, two of the sources told Reuters, adding EDF could choose to sell 30-35% of Edison shares in an IPO.
The French group could choose financial advisers by the end of this month, the sources said.
EDF declined to comment. Edison declined to comment on the issue.
The Italian company already has the corporate structure in place and procedures necessary for its stock to trade publicly.
When it acquired full control of Edison and took it private in 2012, EDF kept Edison’s savings shares listed in Milan. These are a special class of shares that offer a higher dividend than ordinary shares but do not give holders voting rights at shareholder meetings.
Edison reported revenues of 15.4 billion euros and a core profit of 1.7 billion euros last year.
($1 = 0.8619 euros)
(Reporting by Elvira Pollina and Francesca Landini in Milan, Forrest Crellin in Paris, additional reporting Andres Gonzalez in London. Editing by Jane Merriman and Diane Craft)
