EDF Quits Paris Stock Exchange After Full Nationalisation

Paris
French nuclear power group EDF returns to full state ownership on Thursday with its de-listing from the Paris stock exchange after it suffered a record loss last year and saw nuclear output fall to a 34-year low.
The government launched a buyout for the 16% stake it did not already own in EDF in late 2022, stumping up around 10 billion euros to take full control of the debt-laden operator of Europe’s largest fleet of nuclear power plants.
The buyout is part of President Emmanuel Macron’s renewed bet on nuclear energy, which includes building at least six new reactors in coming years.
Here is a snapshot of its history:
• 1946: EDF is created from the nationalisation of dozens of power companies, as part of efforts to rebuild France’s badly dented post-war economy. It has a monopoly.
• 1973: France decides to invest massively in the nuclear sector in response to the global oil shock.
• 2007: Shares peak at more than twice their listing price.
• 2020-2021: Project Hercules plan for the overhaul of EDF is launched to tackle a series of problems, including rising debt and troubles at ageing reactors, but it gets bogged down in talks with unions and the European Commission.
• January 2022: Government tells EDF to sell more of its cheap nuclear power to smaller competitors to limit the increase of electricity prices in France.
• May 2022: EDF issues profit warning over reactor outages, as 12 of its 56 French reactors were offline and being inspected for stress corrosion.