Acea is not interested in merger involving 3-4 companies - CEO

        MILAN (Thomson Financial) - Acea SpA CEO Andrea Mangoni said the Rome-based
utility is not interested in taking part in any consolidation process that
involves tying up with three or four companies.
    "Our position is simple, we don't believe in operations such as 3- or 4-way
tie-ups," Mangoni said, speaking in a conference call with analysts.
    Mangoni said that Hera SpA would be a good hypothetical partner but added
that if Hera wanted a 3-way tie up with other utilities Acea is not interested.
    He said that the election of a new mayor in Rome is not a problem for Acea's
consolidation strategy, reiterating that the problem is that a 2-, 3- or 4-way
tie up with other local utilities is not possible.
    ""We could consider a tie-up with one company and with one company that has
a similar strategy and business portfolio," he said.
    Asked about reports that Acea is interested in linking up with A2A SpA, the
CEO said that A2A has a completely different strategy to Acea.
    "A possible merger between Acea and A2A would not make sense," he said.

stephen.jewkes@thomsonreuters.com
sj/jfr

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