Bloomberg News cites unidentified sources involved in deliberations by the Spanish energy regulator the CNE, who say that if E.ON is allowed to buy Endesa, several assets will have to be disposed of as a result.
The CNE reportedly wants E.ON to divest Endesa’s power plants that burn Spanish coal, its power distribution interests on the Canary and Balearic islands, and shares in seven atomic stations. The report adds that the assets identified by CNE would constitute half of Endesa’s operations in Spain, but that this was unlikely to be enough to deter E.ON from pursuing the bid.
Other reports however suggest the antitrust fallout from E.ON’s takeover would take a different form. El Periodico newspaper has reported that the CNE would like to force E.ON to sell its Ruhrgas unit under the terms of an agreement between E.ON and the German government when Ruhrgas was bought in 2002.
