Hot on the heels of the announcement that Statoil and Hydro are to combine their operations to form a Norwegian oil giant, reports have emerged that Dutch utilities Nuon and Essent are in negotiations to merge their businesses.

<p>According to sources inside the camps, the two firms are current negotiating the terms of a merger. The talks are intensive and we&#0039;re looking carefully at all the details, Essent spokeswoman Anneloes van der Voort said, Expatica reports. However, Ms van der Voort added, (it is) too early to talk about results or to say when these results can be made public.<br /><br />However, outside reports suggest that the deal has already been done and that the companies, which control 70% of the Dutch energy market, are now consulting their shareholders.<br /><br />Combining Nuon and Essent would create a power firm with four million customers, total revenues of E11 billion per year and an estimated overall value of E20 billion.</p>