The initial public offering of a 51 percent stake in Electrica, which raised 435 million euros last month for Romania, “serves as a good indicator of investors’ interest” in the regulated power assets and indicates that Enel could raise 2 billion euros or more for its assets in the country, according to London-based Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd. analyst Cosma Panzacchi.

Romania’s successful sale of national electricity distributor Electrica SA may give a boost to Enel’s effort to sell power-generation assets in Slovakia and sales and distribution assets in Romania for as much as 4.4 billion euros (5.9 billion dollars), say the analysts according to Agerpres.

Sales will involve a 64.4% stake in Enel Distribuție Muntenia and Enel Energie Muntenia, 51% in Enel Distribuție Banat, Enel Distribuție Dobrogea and Enel Energie, and 100% of the shares in Enel Romania.

Enel Chief Executive Officer Francesco Starace, pledged to sell Romanian and Slovak assets by the end of the year to strengthen the balance sheet. Potential buyers include Electrica as well as investment funds, the State Grid Corporation of China, RWE AG, which has recently opened an office in Romania, and EDF.

“We think this event has an indirect, yet important and positive, implication for Enel,” Panzacchi said. “The company will successfully execute its disposal plan.” RWE spokesman declined to comment on a possible offer, as did an EDF spokeswoman.

Any sale may be delayed after the government said it will open an arbitration case against Enel, asking the company to pay about 522 million euros for its remaining shares in the Muntenia Sud unit following a privatization contract signed in 2007. Enel doesn’t expect the arbitration to affect the sale process, its spokeswoman said.

Under the provisions of the privatization agreement signed in July 2007, Electrica has the right to sell and Enel has the obligation to buy a part or the whole package of 23.57% stake in the former Electrica Muntenia Sud.

The Romanian state has a preemptive right to buy Enel’s units in the country and hasn’t said whether it’s interested in the assets.
“Enel’s distribution assets in Romania could be taken over by international private or state-owned investors or by Romanian investors, but it’s also possible that this intention to sell will not materialize,” said the Energy Minister, Răzvan Nicolescu.

The Italian utility is also seeking a buyer for its 66 percent stake in Slovakia’s largest utility, Slovenske Elektrarne AS, which operates two nuclear stations and is building two new reactors. Potential buyers include Czech utility CEZ.

In Romania, the italian company owns trei former Electrica subsidiaries in distribution and supply, in the areas of Muntenia Sud (Bucharest included), Banat and Dobrogea.