EDF CEO To Keep Edison Listed, Defends Offer Price

The head of Electricite de France SA (EDF.FR) wants to keep Edison SpA's (EDN.MI) stock listed in Milan once the French power utility takes control of its smaller Italian peer, and he defends the offer price EDF has made for Edison, according to business daily Il Sole 24 Ore.

In an interview published Thursday, Henri Proglio says the issue of the listing will depend on the number of shareholders who accept EDF's offer of EUR0.84 for each Edison share they hold.

"The listing makes sense if it has an adequate float," he is quoted by the daily as saying. "But our intention is to maintain the listing.

"I would say that 95% of Edison will remain on the market," he adds, explaining how the listing would emphasize Milan as the base for Edison and help its image abroad.

Italian stock market regulator Consob is asking for more information about the agreement that EDF reached with A2A SpA (A2A.MI) and other Italian shareholders to take over Edison by increasing its stake to 80.7% from 50%, but Proglio says the offer price is fair. "(It is) the average of last 12 months."

Proglio says he wants Edison to be EDF's gas hub as well as take responsibility for developing projects in the Mediterranean and central Asia, in countries such as Egypt and Turkey.

Newspaper website: www.ilsole24ore.com

-Milan Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; +39 02 5821 9901

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