The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition by RWE of E.ON's renewable and nuclear electricity generation assets.
Image: E.ON headquarters in Essen. Photo courtesy of Wiki05/Wikipedia.org
The Commission concluded that the transaction would raise no competition concerns in the European Economic Area.
RWE and E.ON are both energy companies based in Germany and are active across the whole electricity supply chain, from generation and wholesale to distribution and retail of electricity. The two companies are engaged in a complex asset swap. Following this asset swap, RWE will be primarily active in upstream electricity generation and wholesale markets, whereas E.ON will focus on the distribution and retail of electricity and gas.
As part of the asset swap, RWE would acquire (i) the majority of E.ON’s renewable and nuclear generation assets and (ii) a 16.67% minority interest in E.ON as part payment for the assets it is selling to E.ON in the context of the asset swap .
E.ON’s acquisition of RWE’s distribution and retail business is being assessed separately by the Commission and is still under review.
Source: Company Press Release