Enel sets sights on October for green IPO

Italian energy giant Enel is planning to complete a €4bn IPO for its Enel Green Power renewable energy unit in early October, according to reports yesterday.

Citing comments made by Enel chief executive Filvio Conti on the sidelines of an energy industry conference in Rome, news agency Reuters reported that the company had delayed plans to float its renewable energy division in September by a couple of weeks.

Conti also revealed that the company, which had originally hoped to float the division in the summer, is in the process of sending letters to banks inviting them to form a consortium around the listing of Enel Green Power.

The move is likely to be one of the biggest European IPOs of the year and is primarily designed to tackle Enel's debt mountain, which is expected to reach around €45bn by the end of the year.

But it will also underline Enel Green Power's position as one of the leading renewable energy players in the fast-expanding southern European market.

The company last month attempted to bolster the unit's appeal to potential investors by merging the division with its Spanish subsidiary Endesa, which boasted 2.7GW of renewable energy capacity.

The deal means that Enel Green Power now holds around 5.7GW of renewable energy capacity in Italy, Spain and Portugal's solar energy sectors.