The sale of the Romanian assets of Enel SpA is progressing “in the right direction”, and the transaction should be completed before the end of June, the general director of the Italian utility group, Francesco Starace, said on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

In December, Public Power Corp (PPC), the largest utility company in Greece, concluded an exclusivity agreement with the Italian company Enel regarding the possible acquisition of its assets in Romania. Analysts value Enel’s assets in Romania at over one billion euros.

The sale of the business is part of Enel’s strategy to reduce net debt to 51-52 billion euros by December 31, 2023, from a level of almost 70 billion euros at the end of September 2022, according to Agerpres.

“We have a process that is not yet completed, but it is progressing in the right direction, and we have selected a preferred bidder (for the assets in Romania),” Starace told Reuters, on the sidelines of an energy conference.

He added: “We have to let this process be completed … I think (it will happen) before the end of June.”

In November, on the occasion of the presentation of its new updated strategy, Enel SpA announced that it intends to sell assets worth 21 billion euros to reduce its net debt, to focus on its presence in six countries. The bulk of the asset sale plan – which targets, among others, assets in Romania, Argentina and Peru – will be completed by the end of 2023.