Despite the obstruction of small shareholders, "the (French) State has implemented today the procedure of mandatory withdrawal of the shares of capital of EDF", said Thursday, June 8 Bercy in a statement. "As a result, the State now holds the entire capital and voting rights of EDF."

The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) had announced at the end of May the deadline of June 8, the date on which shareholders holding the 2% of shares still outstanding would be forced to sell their shares, bringing the State to 100% of the capital.

"This recovery of total control of our national electrician was a priority of the government," welcomed the Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire, an operation valued at 9.7 billion euros. The renationalization, announced in July 2022, "was essential to allow EDF to carry out in an accelerated way several decisive projects", including that of increasing the production of the existing nuclear fleet, he added.

"When you approach a period with so many energy challenges, (...) the fact of having a single shareholder, obviously, makes it possible to have a complete alignment with a long-term vision, "said Thursday the boss of EDF, Luc Rémont, at the annual congress of the French Union of Electricity (UFE).

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Accelerating the revival of nuclear power and the development of renewable energies

This "squeeze-out" of EDF from the stock market forces the last recalcitrant shareholders to get rid of their wool stockings for 12 euros net per share – 20 euros below the IPO price in 2005. It comes after months of legal battle over this price considered too low by small shareholders, some of whom had bet their savings on the future of EDF. Among them, employees or former employees of EDF who had bought their shares with a discount of 20%.

Multiple appeals have been filed to obtain at least 15 euros per share, putting obstacles in the wheels of the takeover bid before the justice puts an end to it in early May.

Until recent months, the State owned 84% of the company. Taking back complete control will allow it to accelerate the revival of nuclear power, with the announced construction of at least six new reactors. While waiting for the commissioning of these new units, at best in 2035-2037, France and EDF will have to work hard to develop renewable energies and catch up with their European neighbors.

>> READ ALSO: Shutdown of nuclear power in Germany: Berlin puts gas on renewable energies

The stakes are crucial for the country's energy sovereignty as electricity consumption is expected to increase much faster than expected by 2035, with the increase in European climate objectives and the reindustrialization desired by the government.

Record debt of €64.5 billion in 2022

The only problem is that EDF's financial room for manoeuvre seems non-existent: during the presentation of its 2022 annual results in mid-February, the energy company had announced a record net debt of 64.5 billion euros. This is the consequence of historically low electricity production in 2022. Added to this is the discovery of corrosion in several nuclear power plants and the forced contribution of the company to the "tariff shield" decided by the government.

To contain the bills of households and businesses, the State has forced the group to sell more electricity at low prices to its competitors, alternative suppliers, in 2022. A measure at an exorbitant cost for the incumbent operator: 8.34 billion euros.

This mechanism by which EDF is forced to sell this electricity at low cost, the Arenh (Regulated Access to Historic Nuclear Electricity), must be extinguished in 2025. Vagueness reigns around the sequel. Luc Rémont asks for his abandonment, castigating "an underremuneration of the company". The government assured in March that the contours of the financing of new nuclear would be fixed by "the end of the year".

Time is running out: the estimated cost for the construction of the first six EPR reactors is estimated, according to EDF's latest estimates, at 51 billion euros, a sum impossible for this company alone.

With AFP

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