Kansas City, Mo ? Aquila Inc. announced Wednesday that it would sell its stake in the holding company for a British electricity concern part of a planned $1 billion selloff of assets.

Aquila said it would seek a buyer for its 79.9 percent stake in Avon Energy Partners, a holding company for Midlands Electricity.

Midlands operates a 38,000-mile electricity distribution network providing power to 2.3 million customers in six British cities.

Kansas City, Mo.-based Aquila has been managing Midlands since it acquired the majority interest in Avon Energy from Akron, Ohio-based FirstEnergy Corp. in May. Since then, Aquila has announced plans to sell $1 billion in assets to improve its credit rating.

Robert Green, chief executive officer of Aquila, said the company received enough “serious inquiries” about Midlands that it decided to initiate a bidding process.

Aquila expects bidding to end in October, and to make a decision about a buyer by the middle of that month.