Plans by Montedison, the Italian agro-energy conglomerate, to halve its debt is set to spark a flurry of mergers and acquisitions activity, with JP Morgan the first of several banks to benefit from lucrative advisory work.

Italenergia, Montedison's new parent company, has said it intends to reduce Montedison's debt to €6.8bn ($6.2bn) from around €13.2bn. Italenergia, an investor consortium led by Fiat and Electricité de France, wants to focus Montedison as an energy company. The news sent Montedison's share price up over 8% during early Wednesday trading on the Borsa Italiana.