Enel close to Greek renewables stake sale to Macquarie -sources

ATHENS (Reuters) -Italy's Enel is expected to finalise by May a deal for the sale of around a 50% stake in its Greek renewables unit to Australia-based Macquarie Group, two sources close to the matter said on Thursday.

Enel said in November it was looking for a partner willing to buy part of Enel Green Power Hellas and invest in its development.

Enel Green Power Hellas has 59 plants totalling 482 megawatts (MW) of operated capacity powered by renewable wind, solar and hydro energy, according to the company's website, and six solar plants of 84 MW under construction.

"The talks with Macquarie for a stake of about 50% are seen concluding in the coming days," one of the sources told Reuters.

Macquarie, which holds a 49% stake in Greece's sole power grid operator HEDNO, and Enel declined to comment.

Enel, which is one of the world's top five renewable energy developers for installed capacity, last year launched a plan to streamline its international operations with the intent to cut its net debt to below 3 times its core profit.

Under the strategy presented by CEO Francesco Starace in November, Enel decided to exit Romania, Peru and Argentina and to partner with investors in some countries or specific businesses.

The Italian group, which is targeting a 21 billion euro reduction in debt by 2025, has already signed a deal to sell its assets in Romania to Greece's Public Power Corp., which is expected to close by the third quarter of this year.

It also reached an agreement with China's state-owned Southern Power Grid International on two assets in Peru.

(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou in Athens, Francesca Landini in Milan and Nina Chestney in London; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)