In its troubled takeover bid for Spanish power major Endesa, Germany’s E.ON has announced its intention to increase its offer price to €35/share.
The move followed an announcement by Acciona that it has purchased 10% of Endesa shares at a price of €32/share and a total cost of €3,388 million in a deal financed by Banco Santander. Acciona would not rule out increasing its stake but stopped short of launching a takeover bid.
E.ON’s commitment to the takeover followed a decision by the European Commission, welcomed by E.ON, that the conditions imposed by the Spanish energy authority CNE on the acquisition do not conform with European law.
E.ON said it now expects the CNE to come to a rapid conclusion on its standing complaint over the divestiture measures initially imposed by the CNE in return for approving the deal. E.ON chief executive Wulf H. Bernotat said: “The EU Commission’s decision confirms our view that the conditions imposed by CNE are not justified. At the same time, it strengthens our commitment to push ahead with the takeover of Endesa.”
The Commission’s legally binding decision that the conditions imposed by the CNE on E.ON are unlawful requires Spain to withdraw them. In addition, the Commission has called on Spain to modify the law amending the functions of the CNE which it introduced several days after the announcement of E.ON’s bid.
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