EDF Considers Sale of €2 Billion Stake in North American Renewables Arm
(Bloomberg) -- Electricite de France SA is considering selling a roughly 50% stake in its North American renewable power business, which could fetch about €2 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
The move — which would help the state-owned utility save cash for huge investments in new reactors at home — is still being discussed. There’s no certainty it will lead to a transaction, the people said, and EDF could opt to sell a larger stake depending on the offers it receives.
EDF Chief Executive Officer Bernard Fontana, who took over leadership of the company in May, has said it may sell assets and will prioritize investment in nuclear power, grids and renewable projects in France to help reduce the country’s reliance on fossil fuels. French President Emmanuel Macron has tasked Fontana to launch the construction of at least six new reactors that will cost tens of billions of euros to build over more than a decade.
The utility already invested a net €22.4 billion ($26 billion) last year, mostly in the maintenance and upgrade of France’s 57 existing nuclear plants, power grids and the construction of two reactors in the UK. Capital expenditure on renewables represented just 12% of the total.
EDF power solutions — which contains the group’s renewables and international operations — is looking at opening the capital of some entities, notably in North America and Brazil, to underpin the growth of its project portfolio, a spokesperson said in an email. The representative declined to comment on the size and valuation of the potential sales.
Online news portal L’Informé last week reported on the plan to sell as much as 50% of EDF power solutions in North America, and as much as 50% of the group’s assets in Brazil.
The French company had almost 4.9 gigawatts of installed renewable capacity in the US at the end last year, with solar, wind and battery projects spread across the country. The French company took an impairment of €934 million last February for the US Atlantic Shores offshore wind project it developed together with Shell Plc. The project’s permit was pulled back by US authorities in March.
The company has smaller project portfolios in Brazil, Canada, Chile and Mexico. It also has renewable operations in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
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