Italy's biggest utility, Enel SpA, is pressing ahead with plans to raise at least 4 billion euros in a listing of its renewables unit to help cut debt, in what would be Europe's largest IPO so far this year.

In a statement on its new 2010-2014 business plan on Thursday, Enel said it expects to file for the initial public offering of a minority stake in its renewable unit Enel Green Power (EGP) before the end of April.

Enel Chief Executive Fulvio Conti said on the sidelines of a conference in March he thinks EGP is worth over 13 billion euros, adding the company could consider listing around 30 percent.

Enel, Europe's second-biggest utility in terms of installed capacity, said it has approved the merger of the renewable assets in Spain and Portugal of EGP and its Spanish unit Endesa in a move that will create one of the world's largest renewable players with a capacity of around 5,700 megawatts.

 Enel is also in advanced talks to sell its majority stake in a Bulgarian thermal power plant to a European investor, Bulgaria's economy and energy minister said on Friday 

Source; Reuters; Balkans.com