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23 October 2003 - Spanish utility Endesa said on Wednesday it expected to have a deal to finally take a majority stake in French power generator Snet before the end of the year.
A deal would then pave the way for Endesa to share its investment in Snet with Enel (ENEI.MI) of Italy, placing two foreign firms in control of an electricity company in France's tightly controlled market.
Chief Executive Rafael Miranda told a conference call with analysts that Endesa was in "very advanced negotiations" with state coal producer Charbonnages de France (CdF) about buying its 51 per cent stake, adding to the 30 percent stake that Endesa previously bought from CdF.
State-controlled Electricité de France (EdF) owns the rest.
"If the privatisation council of France decides positively (in favour of the deal)...it will be finished with Charbonnages de France soon, " Miranda said. "We believe before the end of the year we will have news in this regard." Miranda said Endesa has a gentleman's agreement with Enel to allow it to buy 50 per cent of its holding in Snet, a tiny generator compared to the EdF.
Endesa broke into the French market in 2000 with the deal to by 30 percent of Snet, which has about 2600 MW of installed capacity. The deal was conditioned on Endesa being able to take a controlling stake by 2003.
Since then its European strategy has shifted to Italy, where 5,400-megawatt Elettrogen for 2.63 billion euros as part of the Italian state's privatisation of Enel (ENEI.MI) in 2001.
Later that year, Endesa sold a package of generation and distribution assets known as Viesgo to Enel (ENEI.MI) for €2.147bn.
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