The Italian multinational Enel has announced on Tuesday a strong asset sale plan with which it intends to obtain 21,000 million euros that it will allocate to mopping up its debt and betting on clean energy in what it considers to be its six reference markets: Spain, Italy and The United States joins Brazil, Chile and Colombia in Latin America.
The divestment plan involves accelerating the announced exit from the gas market in Spain, where it is the second operator with 20% of the market share. A decision that is part of the strategy to get rid of carbon emissions before 2040 by disinvesting in fossil fuels and betting on renewable energies, but which during 2023 has, above all, financial objectives.
Reduce the debt up to 52,000 million
“It has nothing to do with the regulatory framework, or what Spain is going to do with the gas tariff, it is a broader concept. Electrification is going to replace gas in consumer spending, it is a trend that is going to accelerate “Due to this enormous “shock” that gas is creating in the energy market, we must leave ahead of schedule and also in Spain,” they explain from Enel.
Together with the sale of Endesa’s gas business, Enel will sell all its assets in Argentina, Peru and part of those in Romania to face the next stage of turbulence in the best possible financial conditions and reduce the net debt of 69,000 million euros. that it had at the end of September, up to 51,000-52,000 million with which it expects to close 2023.
“In the next three years, we will be focused on integrating our business model, driven by digital development and focusing on the geographies that give us the most value and, despite the complicated scenario, betting on strengthening financial ratios”, assured Francesco Starace, CEO of Enel, during the Capital Market Day celebration held this Tuesday.
Confidence in Spanish regulation
One of those markets that Enel trusts is Spain. Contrary to what was stated by its competitor Iberdrola a few weeks ago, the management team of the Italian multinational sees no business opportunities in Spain other than regulatory risks. “We trust the regulatory market in Spain and Portugal, there will be no big changes. It makes perfect sense to invest in renewables in these two markets, also taking into account that we have a large customer base and we also want to insulate both markets from the risk of gas and coal commodities. We are going to accelerate this trend, the same as in Italy, as we have authorizations” they have assured from the Italian multinational.
Thus, Endesa will receive 8,640 million euros of the 37,000 million euros that it plans to invest in the next three years, 15.2% more than that allocated in the previous strategic plan defined for 2022 and 2024.
