EDF Unit Seeks to Triple Retail Base in Italy, Eyes ENI Portfolio
Italian energy group Edison , a unit of French utility EDF, wants to triple its Italian customer base and would be ready to buy Italian energy group Eni's retail base, said Edison chief executive Marc Benayoun.
Benayoun told reporters on Monday that if it could make a deal with Eni, it would be ready to sell a 20-35 percent stake in its capital to a long-term Italian investor in order to finance that deal.
Edison, which has about 1.2 million retail customers in Italy - half in power, half in gas - hopes to grow its customer base to 3-4 million as it aims to benefit from the opening of the Italian energy market in 2018.
Benayoun also said Edison could return to profitability in 2018. He expects the company will be close to break-even in 2017 and book a small net loss this year.
(Reporting by Geert De Clercq)
