Enel SpA (ENEL.MI) is close to selling for about EUR1.2 billion its Italian high-voltage power lines to Terna SpA (TRN.MI), with the deal expected to be announced at the start of January, writes daily Il Sole 24 Ore Tuesday without citing its source.
Talks are at an "advanced" stage after picking up in recent days and the close could be "imminent" had Enel not asked a few weeks to transfer the 20,000-kilometer lines into a new company to sell, says the newspaper.
The EUR1.2 billion price-tag is lower than Enel had expected to pick up for the assets, but the Rome-based utility expects fiscal benefits from the sale to recoup some of the difference from its initial price request, adds the paper.
Enel and Terna have been discussing the sale for most of this year as the Italian utility seeks to reduce its debt after its international shopping spree.