A2A completes acquisition of Enel’s Lombardy distribution assets
Italy: power pole inspection. Image courtesy Enel
Italian utility A2A has completed an acquisition from Enel’s E-distribuzione of 90% share capital of Duereti, increasing the Group’s managed electricity meters by 70% in the provinces of Milan and Brescia.
The acquisition of Duereti, which operates electricity distribution assets in Milan and Brescia, was signed March 9, 2024. Transfer of the stake to A2A became effective from December 31, 2024.
Commenting in a release, A2A CEO Renato Mazzoncini said how, with the completion, the Group’s meter management increased by 70% with network growth of 17,000km in Milan and Brescia.
The €1.2 billion ($1.24 billion) acquisition also “foresees additional investments in distribution, which overall exceed €4 billion ($4.1 billion) by 2035,” said Mazzoncini.
At the time of signing in March, Enel said the transaction was envisaged in their 2024-2026 Strategic Plan.
The plan foresees approximately €12.2 billion ($12.6 billion) of investments directed to grids in Italy for the 31 million end users that E-distribuzione will continue to serve with the closed transaction.
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Said Mazzoncini: “To support the ongoing electrification of consumption and trends such as the development of artificial intelligence, it is essential to increase resources allocated to infrastructure. At the European level, over €580 billion ($600.9 billion) investments in electricity networks are expected for the period 2020-2030; only in Italy up to €60 billion ($62.2 billion).
“We have therefore decided to acquire significant assets that will allow A2A to achieve economies of scale, further contributing to the growth of already heavily populated and industrialised areas. The operation confirms our strategy for the country’s energy transition and the Group’s commitment to promoting the decarbonisation of urban centres.”
With the investment and the expansion of the management perimeter, A2A Group says their electrical regulatory asset base will rise to €3.4 billion ($3.5 billion) by 2035.
Alongside the signing of the agreement in March, Enel’s E-distribuzione also signed with A2A a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at exploring the possible acquisition by e-distribuzione of electricity distribution activities, outside the provinces of Milan and Brescia, currently held by A2A.
With the closing of the acquisition, E-distribuzione retains a 10% stake in Duereti’s share capital, functional to the start-up phase of the company.
