French energy marketer Direct Energie has agreed to buy Marcinelle Energy – the owner of a 400 MW combined-cycle gas power plant – from Italy’s state-dominated Enel.
Direct Energie seeks to complete the deal by end-2016, pending government approval. The value of the transaction was not disclosed but Enel said it is part of its €6 billion programme of non-core asset disposals.
The purchase of Marcinelle’s CCGT at Charleroi in southern Belgium, built in 2012, would double its overall generation capacity to 800 MW, the company said an “confirm [its] ambitions in the Belgian market.”
Gazprom three years ago had reached out to Enel, seeking to snap up Marcinelle but it ultimately did not follow through with the deal.
Direct Energie, France's third largest French electricity and gas supplier, posted earnings on September 28 and stated it more than doubled it’s the first half of 2016 net profit to €52.4 million, up from €23.2 million year-on-year. The company aims to supply energy to 2 million customers by the end of this year, at end-June it had 1.82 million in France alone – yet Engie and EDF remain the dominant suppliers in France.
