Entergy Selling British Electric Unit to French

Entergy Corp., the fourth-largest electric power generator in the United States, said that it will sell its British electricity distributor, London Electricity, to the French national power company for $3.18 billion. New Orleans-based Entergy, which purchased London Electricity in February 1997 for $2.1 billion, said it expects to realize cash proceeds from the sale to Electricite de France of about $860 million after repayment of debt. The deal, expected to close Dec. 4, marks the latest in a series of asset sales by Entergy, which announced earlier this year plans to slash its dividend, trim operations and refocus on the business of power generation. Entergy stock fell 69 cents to close at $29.31 on the New York Stock Exchange.