IntesaBci, Sanpaolo IMI and Capitalia have advised their fellow shareholders in Italenergia, the Italian power holding company, to consider pulling a €1bn ($1bn) share sale in its affiliate Edison, Italy's second biggest power producer.

The Italian business newspaper Il Sole reported that the three Italian banks, which together own 37% of Italenergia, have become concerned by the current state of the IPO market. They fear that any offering would have to be steeply discounted in order to attract investors, diluting Italenergia's stake to a dangerously low level and rendering Edison vulnerable to a takeover. The banks are thinking of selling Edison's natural gas reserves in Egypt instead, the newspaper said.