Edp sale battles market turbulence

摘要

Under the terms of Portugal's €78 billion bail-out agreement with the European Union and International Monetary Fund, the centre-right coalition government is committed to selling its stake in EDP by the end of 2011, making it virtually impossible to defer the operation until stock markets stabilize and share prices recover. The government has indicated that it hopes to conclude the EDP operation by October and the privatization prospectus is expected to be released in September. The EU-IMF rescue package has forced Portugal to scrap the state's 'golden shares' in EDP, removing the government's power to block a take-over or veto any other strategic decision by the company.