Monday December 3, 08:01 AM
French minister announces plan to sell 2.5 percent of EDF
PARIS (AFP) - France's Finance Ministry announced Monday the sale of a 2.5 percent share of electricity monopoly EDF (Paris: FR0010242511 - news) to raise funds for higher education, with the option of selling 3.7 percent according to demand.
"The state, the majority shareholder in EDF, will today commit to selling around 2.5 percent of the company" via an accelerated share placement to institutional investors, French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said in a statement.
President Nicolas Sarkozy had said Thursday that France would sell three percent of its stake in the energy giant Electricite de France (EDF) to "create a five-billion (euro) investment plan for our universities".
Lagarde said the government would sell 45 million shares -- around 2.5 percent of EDF's capital -- and "that number could, depending on the interest expressed, go up to a maximum of close to 67.3 million shares", about 3.7 percent of the capital.
The French state owns 87 percent of the utility giant, which is worth more than 156 billion euros (230 billion dollars) by market capitalisation. It is required by law to retain at least 70 percent.
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