Edison Shareholder Rejects EDF Offer

A key Edison SpA (EDN.MI) shareholder Monday rejected the latest offer by Electricite de France SA (EDF.FR) to take control of the Italian utility, saying he didn't want to sell the country's second-biggest gas and electricity provider by volume at a "discount."

EDF's offer would give the French power giant 80% control of Edison, both directly and indirectly.

Although it didn't give a price, it said it would pay an amount based on a multiple of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization reported by comparable listed companies during the coming years.

At present, EDF owns 50% of a company that holds a majority stake in Edison.

The other 50% of the company is owned by a holding company with A2A SpA (A2A.MI), a regional utility in northern Italy, as a member.

Speaking to reporters on the margins of a meeting, the chairman of A2A's supervisory board said he didn't like EDF's offer.

"It's a proposal that is unacceptable," Graziano Tarantini said, according to MF-Dow Jones. "We can't sell the company at a discount."

Tarantini said he preferred to work on improving the terms of an agreement reached with EDF last March--an agreement that was botched by the Italian government.

Faced with an Oct. 31 deadline, EDF has been in talks with A2A and other Edison investors for weeks to decide the future of the utility.

-By Oscar Bodini, MF-Dow Jones, and Gilles Castonguay, Dow Jones Newswires; +39 02 5821-9908; gilles.castonguay@dowjones.com

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