German utility E.ON said on Monday that it could go ahead with its $47 billion offer for Spain’s Endesa, after the Spanish government dropped key conditions that had stood in the way of a deal to create the world’s top power and gas group.
‘We welcome the judgment of the Industry Ministry. The revised conditions are acceptable to us,” E.ON Chief Executive Wulf Bernotat said in a statement on Monday. “We can now swiftly proceed with the transaction. This judgment clears the way for our offer to be put to shareholders,” he said. “We urge all parties involved to take whatever steps are necessary to enable this to happen as soon as possible.”
E.ON said it now expected Spanish stock market regulator CNMV to proceed with the final approval of its long-running offer.
The comment comes after Spain’s Industry Ministry said it would not force E.ON to sell Endesa power plants-a condition the European Commission has said violates EU legislation. The EU had threatened to take Spain to the European Court of Justice if it did not reverse that and others of the 19 conditions it slapped on the deal in July.
E.ON stuck also to its EUR35 per share offer price, valuing Endesa at around EUR37 billion, despite market speculation of a higher offer to entice Endesa shareholders.
Despite the acceptance, E.ON could still face hurdles in its acquisition plan because Spain on Saturday also opened the door to construction company Acciona raising its stake in Endesa to just short of 25% stake.
(Reuters, 06/11/2006)