Following approval for the Gas Natural hostile takeover of Spanish rival Endesa by the Madrid government, Endesa has pledged to appeal against the decision to the Supreme Court.
The government approval came with a number of conditions, including the divestment of some 4,300 MW of capacity.
In a statement, Endesa said it: “believes that the conditions imposed, together with the poor quality of Gas Natural’s project, mean that the business combination lacks strategic, economic and manufacturing rationale, while by the same token jeopardising the initiative due to the serious regulatory risk it entails.”
Gas Natural, meanwhile, issued a statement saying that the strategic, industrial and financial advantages of the transaction will be beneficial to the shareholders of Endesa and Gas Natural, as well as for consumers and the general public. After studying the twenty conditions imposed by the Council of Ministers, the company is to go on with the tender offer.
Following the conclusion of the last regulatory approval and with the decision to move forward, the transaction is still pending approval by the Spanish Securities Exchange Commission and the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC).