Isra-Mart srl:Enel Green Power pulls in IPO investors

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Isra-Mart srl news:

But only after energy giant reportedly cuts minimum price
BusinessGreen.com Staff, BusinessGreen.

Italian energy giant Enel is poised to complete the stock market listing of its Enel Green Power (EGP) renewable energy unit, according to a Reuters report that said the planned IPO of up to 32.5 per cent of the company is now over subscribed.

Sources told Reuters yesterday that the company has lowered the minimum price for the unit from €1.8 to €1.6 per share in a bid to pull in the final round of investors needed to ensure that the IPO is fully covered.

"The offer is well over 100 per cent covered," a source close to the deal told the news agency late yesterday.

The move raises the prospect that the IPO could fall short of Enel's €3bn (£2.67bn) target. However, it is still expected to be the largest European IPO in three years and represents a major test of investor confidence in the renewable energy sector.

In a further indication of the choppy clean tech IPO market, US wind farm operator First Wind Holdings yesterday cancelled its planned stock market listing in the face of investor concerns about its balance sheet and the future of government financing programmes for renewable energy projects.

First Wind had initially hoped to raise $300m (£191.45m) at IPO, but had earlier this week scaled back its expectations to $228m.

However, with investors reportedly expressing doubts about the company's debt position and the impact of currently weak electricity prices, chief executive Paul Gaynor released a statement confirming the IPO had been pulled on the grounds that the terms the company was able to get were "not attractive".