France to pay €9.7bn for nationalisation of EDF

The French government is aiming to launch a €9.7bn tender offer to buy out the shares and convertible bonds in utility EDF it does not already own in September, as it moves towards a full nationalisation of the nuclear specialist in the middle of an energy crisis.

An offer of €12 per EDF share would be made to minority investors, the economy ministry said on Tuesday. The price marks a 53 per cent premium to EDF’s closing price the day before French prime minister Élisabeth Borne announced the nationalisation in early July. The deal will also entail an offer to buy out the 60 per cent of convertible bonds the state does not already hold.

The French state, which already held 84 per cent of the company, has presented the buyout as a means of bolstering EDF’s finances as it embarks on a major plan to build six new nuclear reactors in France in the coming years. The group has struggled with production outages in recent months, and its core profits have also been hobbled by political measures to shield consumers from energy price rises.

The government added on Tuesday that taking full control would allow it to accelerate decision-making at the group. However, analysts and people close to EDG have said it still faces major problems which nationalisation will not address, including industrial challenges such as delays to the building of new nuclear plants and regulatory hurdles.

EDF’s shares have been suspended since last week.