Edesur confirms it will be put up for sale due to Enel's global divestment plan

Edesur, the electricity distributor of the southern area of the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (AMBA), confirmed that it will be put up for sale together with other assets that the Italian state-owned company Enel owns in Argentina, within the framework of the worldwide divestment plan announced by the company. This was informed in a statement sent to the National Securities Commission (CNV) and to Bolsas y Mercados Argentinos (ByMA), "in order to confirm that the controlling company Enel SpA has presented its strategic plan for the period 2023-2025". In this presentation, among other aspects, it announced, as part of its energy transition process, the intention to divest certain assets it owns, among which it made reference to Argentina", said Edesur's proxy, Mónica Diskin. Enel announced that it will put up for sale all its assets in Argentina, which include the electricity distribution company Edesur, the Costanera and Dock Sud thermal power plants, the concession of the El Chocón hydroelectric power plant, transmission lines and power transmission lines. The announcement was made at its Capital Markets Day, held yesterday in the city of Milan, where it announced that it will launch an asset sale plan for 21 billion euros, exiting markets such as Argentina, Peru and Romania, in order to reduce its debt, including in these divestments the portfolio of its gas business in Spain, where it is the main shareholder of Endesa with a 70% stake. As a result, Enel will focus on six strategic countries, namely Italy, Spain, the United States, Brazil, Chile and Colombia. The Italian group expects most of this divestment plan to be completed by the end of 2023, thus focusing on these six markets. With this divestment plan, Enel expects to achieve its goal of reducing its debt to around 52 billion euros by the end of 2023, from the 69 billion euros it closed with last September. Enel became the owner of Edesur when it acquired in 2008 the majority shareholding of the Spanish Endesa, which owned the Argentine electricity distribution company, and also inherited the Costanera and Dock Sud gas-fired power plants, and the El Chocón hydroelectric power plant, in the provinces of Neuquén and Río Negro, whose concession expires next year and should return to the hands of the State, which will have to define its future management. From the acquisition of Endesa, Enel also became owner of the transmission lines CTM and TESA, which connect the electric energy systems between Brazil and the Argentine northeast; and of Yacylec, company that transports the energy coming from the binational hydroelectric dam Yacyretá. (Télam)