All or nothing

26 June 2015 By Fiona Maharg-Bravo

Private equity funds eyeing Spanish energy utility Endesa might need to go big to get anywhere at all. There’s reported interest in buying a chunky stake from Italy’s Enel. A takeover costing 29 bln euros with debt would make more sense. But that could prove too gutsy.

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Private equity funds CVC and KKR are studying a bid for a sizeable stake in Endesa, the listed Spanish unit of Italy energy group Enel, Reuters reported on June 25.

Any potential offer may not be presented until later this year, depending on the final interest of the buyer as well as Spain’s political situation, it said.

Meanwhile, Enel CEO Francesco Starace told Bloomberg that a bid from private equity firms “makes sense perhaps from their point of view, but it’s a strategic asset for us”. He added that a different group approached Enel one to two months ago and were told that Enel was not interested.

Enel owns 70.1 percent of Endesa after listing a 22 percent stake last year.

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