EnBW Sells Stake in Austrian Utility

EnBW, Germany's third-biggest power supplier, said Thursday it has sold its 6.33-percent stake in Austrian utility Verbund for close to €300 million ($390 million). EnBW, which is 34.5-percent owned by French electricity giant EdF, said in a statement that it had sold some 1.95 million shares at €144 a piece to a group of about 100 institutional investors. EnBW had announced earlier this month that it intended to sell its stake in Verbund, the full name of which is Österreichische Elektrizitätswirtschafts-AG. But the divestment did not mean the German company was pulling out of Austria altogether, EnBW insisted. "We'll focus instead on our strategic shareholding in Energieversorgung Niederösterreich (EVN)," the company said. (AFP)