Bankers working on the partial privatisation of Electricité de France said today they had already started receiving "chunky" orders from investors after setting a price range for the deal 15% higher than expected. The range values the company at up to €62.4bn ($75.8bn).

The French electricity giant this morning set a price range of €29.50 to €34.10. French daily La Tribune reported yesterday that the price would be between €28.50 to €29.50.