France’s government is offering to pay 9.7 billion euros ($9.85 billion) to take full control of EDF (EDF.PA), in a buyout deal that gives it a free hand to run Europe’s biggest nuclear power operator as it grapples with a continent-wide energy crisis.
The finance ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that the government would offer EDF’s minority shareholders 12 euros per share, a 53% premium to the closing price on July 5, the day before the government announced its intention to fully nationalise the debt-laden group.
EDF shares, which resumed trading on Tuesday after a one-week suspension pending details of the government buyout plan, had jumped 15% to 11.80 euros by 0836 GMT.
The state already owns 84% of EDF, which has been dogged by unplanned outages at its nuclear fleet, delays and cost overruns in building new reactors, and power tariff caps imposed by the government to shield households from soaring electricity prices.
The war in Ukraine has deepened the crisis at the group, forcing it to buy electricity on the market at historically high prices and sell it at cheaper levels to its competitors.
France has said EDF’s nationalisation will increase the security of its energy reserves as Europe scrambles to find alternatives to Russian gas supplies.
Rising prices have squeezed energy suppliers across Europe, and earlier this month Germany moved to bail out Uniper, its biggest importer of Russian gas.
