(Bloomberg) -- Enel SpA subsidiary Endesa SA has agreed to sell a minority stake in its Spanish solar fields to Abu Dhabi’s Masdar for €817 million ($887 million), as the Italian utility pushes ahead with an assets dismissal plan designed to cut debt.
Enel Green Power Espana will sell a 49.9% stake in a photo-voltaic solar portfolio owned by Endesa in Spain as it announced a long-term partnership with the Middle Eastern player, according to a statement Thursday. Endesa will retain control of the unit.
The deal is part of Flavio Cattaneo’s strategy to sell minority stakes in selected projects, a template which has allowed Italy’s biggest utility to reduce its debt by 4.6% to €57 billion from about €60 billion at the end of 2023, according to the first-half earnings also released Thursday.
Under Cattaneo, who was appointed to run the state-controlled utility by Giorgia Meloni’s government last year, Enel agreed to sell a 49% stake in its energy storage unit to Italian asset manager Sosteneo, a €1.1 billion deal also aimed at seeking to contain costs.
Enel said Thursday that its adjusted net income rose to €3.96 billion, up 21% during the first half, and slightly above Bloomberg’s analysts consensus of €3.87 billion. Cattaneo said the company is on track to meet the higher end of its full-year guidance range.
--With assistance from Luca Casiraghi and Thomas Gualtieri.
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