French government aiming to fully nationalise EDF
State already holds an 84 stake in the group
Utility grappling with outages and tariff caps

PARIS, July 13 Reuters Shares in debtladen EDF were suspended on Wednesday as the French government prepares to detail its plans to fully nationalise Europe39;s biggest nuclear power operator.

France said last week it wanted to fully nationalise EDF, in which the state already holds an 84 stake, without explaining how it would do so. In a statement, the finance ministry said it would clarify its plans before the market opens on July 19 at the latest.

Taking EDF back under full state control would give the government greater licence to restructure the group that runs the nation39;s nuclear power plants, as it contends with a European energy crisis.

A finance ministry source said the suspension of EDF shares, which was requested by the company, was temporary and trading would resume once the government had made clear how it would fully nationalise the utility.

EDF has been grappling with extraordinary outages at its nuclear fleet, delays and cost overruns in building new reactors, and power tariff caps imposed by the government to shield French consumers from soaring electricity prices.

Two sources told Reuters this week that the government was poised to pay up to 10 billion euros to buy the 16 stake in the group it does not already own, after including the purchase of convertible bonds and a premium it is expected to offer…