Electricite de France SA's (EDF.FR) preliminary deal to take over Italian power utility Edison SpA (EDN.MI) should reduce Edison's debt by EUR1.1 billion and reassure ratings agencies, EDF Chief Financial Officer Thomas Piquemal said Tuesday.

Piquemal, speaking on a conference call with reporters after the deal was announced, described the transaction as simplified from an earlier proposal and said he was hopeful it would close. He said the transaction would boost synergies between EDF and Edison.

"These are the main lines of an agreement but... as opposed to the last deal, this deal is simplified and therefore transforming [it] into a contract will take much less time than before," Piquemal said. He added that EDF's "objective is to move fast, we don't want to be under pressure from ratings agencies anymore... which is why we have given short delays."

French state controlled utility group said earlier Tuesday it signed a preliminary deal to increase its stake in Italian power utility Edison SpA (EDN.MI) to 80.7% from 50%, for EUR700 million. The announcement follows several extensions of the existing shareholder pact and revises an October preliminary deal between EDF and A2A that later ran into resistance.

Piquemal said that the deal would effectively mean that "EDF will more or less swap its 50% stake in Edipower for the 50% stake in TdE," and that EDF "is ready to make a tender offer at EUR0.84 per share for the [remaining] 20% of Edison which is floated, if the Consob confirms this price."

EDF said in a statement that the deal was subject to approval by the corporate bodies of the companies concerned before Jan. 31, 2012, with final contracts to be signed "no later than" Feb. 15, 2012.
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