Austria's Verbund AG is interested in buying a 37% stake in
competitor EVN AG held by German utility EnBW Energie
Baden-Wuerttemberg AG, German daily Financial Times
Deutschland reports Monday, citing Verbund chief executive Michael
Pistauer.
"We are interested in the stake," the CEO of the state-owned power generator and grid operator says, FTD writes.
On the stock exchange, the 37% stake in EVN is worth around
EUR1 billion. "It is possible that the stake in EVN doesn't make sense
to EnBW anymore or that it doesn't live up to expectations," Pistauer
says.
The Austrian government wants to block the country's power
market to foreign competitors. Verbund's interest in EVN would be a key
point in these plans, the paper reports.
An EnBW spokesman tells the paper that Austria is an important market and that the company is very satisfied with its holding.