CVC paying EUR 300m to obtain joint control over Enel's Gridspertise

Italian utility Enel SpA (BIT:ENEL) has agreed to sell a 50% interest in grid digitalisation specialist Gridspertise Srl to private equity fund CVC Capital Partners Fund VIII so they could operate the company in a joint control regime.

Under the terms of the deal, CVC will pay EUR 300 million (USD 294.3m) for the stake, thus valuing all of Gridspertise at EUR 625 million. Potential deferred payments included in the agreement could bring the enterprise value up to EUR 1 billion on a 100% basis, the announcement says.

Gridspertise provides sustainable solutions for the digital transformation of electricity distribution networks in the areas of metering and grid edge digitalisation, networks infrastructure digitalisation and field operations digitalisation. It serves Distribution System Operators (DSOs) in the target markets of Europe, Latin America and North America, and is expanding towards Asia-Pacific.

“With this partnership, we are joining forces with CVC to support the growth of Gridspertise and further enable the achievement of its mission, underscoring the importance of Distribution System Operators and the digital transformation of electricity infrastructure in the energy transition process,” commented Francesco Starace, Enel’s CEO and general manager.

Starace also pointed at the European Commission’s recently published Action Plan on Digitalising the Energy System, focused on supporting grids in a drive to enhance energy efficiency and accelerate the roll-out of renewables, and at the US government’s commitment to supporting grid resilience and innovation partnership programmes.

The stake sale is seen to close by the end of the year, subject to securing certain administrative authorisations and antitrust approvals. Enel expects the transaction to have a positive impact on the group’s EBITDA of about EUR 500 million and on its consolidated net debt of around EUR 300 million.

(EUR 1 = USD 0.981)

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