The ongoing saga over the acquisition of Endesa has taken another turn with reports indicating that the power firm has taken Gas Natural to court in an attempt to protect its US shareholders.
Endesa filed the lawsuit in a US court claiming that American shareholders risk falling victim to misleading statements that it alleges are contained in Gas Natural’s prospectus.
Endesa’s US shareholders will be irreparably harmed if they tender their shares to Gas Natural because the prospectus is rife with false and misleading disclosures and omits significant and material facts concerning Gas Natural, Reuters reports the lawsuit as saying.
Meanwhile, in other news, the EU has reportedly demanded further details from the Spanish government on the decree it has passed to protect companies from foreign takeover.
The decree is reportedly intended partly to defend Endesa from acquisition by the German heavyweight E.ON, which has tabled a bid in excess of that offered by Gas Natural.
El Pais newspaper reports that the decree gives Spain’s CNE energy regulator greater power to veto M&A deals. The EU is likely to take a dim view of such attempts to hinder the operation of the open market.