Italy's largest utility, Enel Group (hereinafter referred to as "the company"), has reached an agreement with China Southern Power Grid to sell a set of its assets in Latin America to reduce its debt, according to the relevant report.

The Rome-based company said in a statement on April 7 local time that it would sell its electricity distribution business in Peru for about $2.9 billion. According to the company, the enterprise value of these assets is about $4 billion.

This deal is in line with the company's recently implemented strategic plan to reshape its geographic presence and also reduce its debt. The company's debt increased to about € 60 billion ($65 billion) at the end of last year.

The company's strategy also includes the disposal of the assets worth € 21 billion, mainly in Latin America and Europe, while focusing on six key markets, including Italy, the United States and Brazil.

According to the statement, after the sale of the Peruvian assets, it is expected to reduce consolidated debt for the company by about €3.1 billion and increase net income by about €500 million in 2023.

The company has not yet fully exited the Peruvian market and still has power generation business in the country to be sold, namely more than 2GW of installed capacity, nearly half of which comes from renewable energy sources.

Its Peru-based generation and distribution business has about 1.5 million customers, according to the information provided on the company's website. It distributes about 8,441 gigawatt-hours of electricity in 2021, according to a news report.

The deal could further boost China Southern Power Grid International Co.,LTD's presence in Latin America, after the company also bought a 28 percent stake in Chilean utility Transelec. Latin America has become a key region for Chinese companies to seek alternative markets amid increased scrutiny in Europe and the United States.

According to China Brand Value Standard on Brand Value Network, the sale of assets in non-focused overseas markets to reduce debt and increase revenue, and the focus on key markets such as Italy, the U.S. and Brazil, are in line with the second level "Market Impact" of the integrated indicator system under the first level "Brand Building", which will help improve its ranking in the "(Daguan•Keweiwei) The World Brand Value Top 900". According to "(Daguan•Keweiwei) The World Brand Value Top 900" officially released on March 18, 2023, Enel is ranked 843rd with a brand value of 23.49 billion CNY.

www.bvrcn.com  Brand Value Network

作者：Trina Yao