Endesa SA (ELE.MC) may start an open auction for a large portfolio of European assets if it doesn't reach an agreement with Germany's E.ON AG (EOA.XE) over its final price, a top official of the Spanish power company said Tuesday.
Endesa may also keep most of those assets, but will sell in any case the company's Italian operations due to regulatory concerns, Endesa Europa managing director Jesus Olmos said.
Olmos was speaking at a conference call with analysts, in which he provided an update on the talks about asset sales between Endesa and its top shareholders - Spanish infrastructure and energy company Acciona SA (ANA.MC) and Italian power utility Enel SpA (ENEL.MI) - on one side, and E.ON on the other.
The talks follow an agreement signed last year, by which E.ON withdrew from the bidding battle for Endesa in exchange for the right to acquire about EUR10 billion worth of assets in Spain, Italy, France and Turkey currently in the hands of Endesa and Enel.