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| EU approves acquisition of Endesa by Enel and Acciona The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of sole control through a public takeover bid for Endesa S.A., a Spanish energy company mainly active in the electricity sector, by Enel S.p.A., based in Italy, and Acciona S.A., based in Spain. After examining the operation, the Commission concluded that the proposed transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it. Enel is an Italian electricity operator, active in the generation, distribution and supply of electricity mainly in Italy, where it is the main provider of electricity to both domestic and industrial users, and also in Spain, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Russia, France, and North and South America. It is also active in the purchase and sale of natural gas for domestic electricity generation and gas operations in Italy. Acciona is a corporate group primarily based in Spain, whose main lines of business are the development and management of infrastructure and real estate projects, the provision of transport, urban and environmental services, as well as the development and operation of renewable energies. Endesa is a Spanish electricity operator that is to a limited extent also active in other European countries, in particular in Portugal, France, Italy, Germany and Poland. In addition, Endesa is active in South America and North Africa. In Spain, Endesa is also present in the gas sector. Endesa's shares are listed on the Madrid and the New York stock Exchanges. On 26th March 2007 Enel and Acciona agreed to acquire joint control of Endesa by launching a joint public bid for the shares in Endesa that they do not already own or control. In a parallel operation, Acciona plans to acquire sole control over Endesa's renewable energy business. On 2nd April 2007 Enel, Acciona and E.on agreed that Enel and Endesa will transfer a number of rights and assets to E.ON, an energy company headquartered in Germany. The Commission's investigation found that the proposed transaction would not significantly strengthen Endesa's position in any of these markets. Moreover, the removal of Acciona as an independent player is not likely to lead to any significant non-coordinated effects in the market, in particular in the light of the corresponding reinforcement of the independent player Viesgo, previously controlled by Enel and which is due to be controlled by E.ON. The proposed transaction would lead to an increase of both Viesgo's generation capacity and market shares. Moreover, a number of other competitors such as Iberdrola, Union Fenosa and Gas Natural will remain active in this market. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Construction News :: home page |