“EDP has its own path, without mergers”, says CEO

EDP CEO Miguel Stilwell de Andrade on Monday dismissed speculation about mergers with Iberian companies, arguing that the Portuguese electricity company has its own path and growth project.

In an interview with Expansión, after Jornal Económico reported on Friday that CriteriaCaixa – the largest shareholder in Spanish energy company Naturgy, with a 26.7% stake – had once again explored the possibility of a merger with EDP, Stilwell de Andrade recalled that the idea of creating an ‘Iberian champion’ by bringing together EDP and a large Spanish electricity company ‘is not new, it’s been [spoken] on the market for years’. First it was Iberdrola, then Endesa and now Naturgy, recalls the Spanish newspaper.

‘We do not go into speculation. And even less so at this time, when EDP has its own path,’ said the CEO. ‘Our focus as managers is always on creating value for our shareholders and having our own attractive and growing industrial project. We have our own roadmap, without mergers.’

For the CEO, Europe, now more than ever, ‘must welcome stable foreign investors’. He explained that the energy sector faces major challenges in terms of investment ‘and Europe needs private capital,’ he said when asked about the initiatives of Arab groups, such as Taqa or its subsidiary Masdar, in the field of renewable energies.