E.ON has considerably strengthened its European presence as of this date. The acquisition of a substantial package comprising power stations and shareholdings in Italy, Spain and France was successfully completed today. Back in April 2007, E.ON reached agreement with the Italian energy company Enel and the Spanish conglomerate Acciona on this important transaction as a constructive way of ending the dispute over the acquisition of a majority interest in the Spanish energy company Endesa. The valuation of the assets was completed in March this year and it was now possible to finalise successfully the transaction worth 11.5 bn EUR.
"With the acquisition of Endesa Europa, EnelViesgo and further Endesa generation capacities in Spain, we are improving our position on attractive European key markets and creating platforms for further profitable growth. In total, we are acquiring close to 12.2 GW of generation capacity in three major markets, which increases our generation portfolio by roughly 20 percent. E.ON now has a European presence unmatched by any other energy company. We are actively involved in a total of about 30 European countries." said E.ON CEO Wulf H. Bernotat. "We are delighted to be able to welcome to E.ON more than 3.500 new employees. Together with them, we will further promote competition, security of supply and climate protection on the European energy market. Swift integration of our new shareholdings into the E.ON Group is therefore initially our prime goal. Thanks to the completion of the transaction today, they will already make a significant contribution to our results this year."
In Spain, E.ON is acquiring the power supplier EnelViesgo from Enel and other Spanish generation capacities from Endesa with a total installed capacity of approx. 2.5 GW. By 2010, this capacity will increase due to already ongoing new build projects to approx. 4.5 GW and reflect a balanced energy mix. With a market share of well over 10 percent. E.ON will then rank fourth on the Spanish generation market. By taking over Viesgo’s end customer business with roughly 580,000 customers, E.ON will also gain a significant position in power distribution in Spain. As a result, E.ON’s operations in Spain will be roughly the size of those in northern Europe with its Nordic market unit.
In Italy, E.ON is taking over Endesa Italia with over 7.2 GW of installed capacity. This will make E.ON the fourth-largest generation company in Italy, again giving it a position similar to that in northern Europe. Prior to completion of the transaction, an agreement was reached with the Italian supplier A2A on terminating its 20 percent shareholding in Endesa Italia in exchange for generation capacities from Endesa Italia’s power generation portfolio.
With their appreciable potential for synergies, the acquired capacities supplement E.ON’s existing activities in the power and gas wholesale business in Italy. In addition, E.ON is gaining access to an LNG terminal project on the coast of Tuscany.
In France E.ON is acquiring 65 percent in Endesa France/SNET, with almost 2.5 GW of installed capacity, mainly coal-fired generation. E.ON is thus becoming number 3 on the French power generation market, liberalised since 2007.