The E.ON Board of Management and Supervisory Board have approved the acquisition of a substantial package comprising power stations and other shareholdings above all in Spain, France and Italy. E.ON reached agreement last April with the Italian energy company Enel and the Spanish conglomerate Acciona on an extensive transaction as a constructive way of ending the dispute over the acquisition of a majority interest in the Spanish energy company Endesa. Valuation of the assets, which was agreed then as a basis for determining the final purchase price, has now been completed on schedule.

The purchase price is approx. EUR 8.9 bn. In addition, debt which is currently put at approx. EUR 2.9 bn will be taken over. This means that E.ON invests in total approx. EUR 11.8 bn in the transaction. The final amount of debt will subsequently be determined by an auditor. At its meeting today, the E.ON Supervisory Board approved the acquisition of the assets at this value. The completion of the transaction is likely to take place in the third quarter of 2008 once all permits are available.

E.ON CEO Wulf H. Bernotat said: "With this transaction we are considerably expanding our position in Spain, where we are already strong in the wind power market, and Italy. Furthermore, it gives us a good position on the very interesting French power generation market. At the same time E.ON now has an international presence unmatched by any other energy company, thus obtaining an even better platform for further profitable growth in Europe. The purchase price now reached was determined by several banks and reflects the fair market value of the shares. Our new shareholdings will already make a significant contribution to our results this year and meet our requirements for an attractive return on capital."

In Spain, E.ON intends to acquire the power supplier Viesgo from Enel and other Spanish generating capacities from Endesa with a total power-generating capacity of approx. 3 GW. By 2010, this capacity will rise due to already ongoing new construction projects to approx. 5 GW and reflect a balanced energy mix. With a market share of well over 10 %, E.ON will then rank fourth on the Spanish power-generating market. By taking over Viesgo’s end customer business with roughly 580,000 customers, E.ON will also gain a significant position in power distribution in Spain. As a result, E.ON’s operations in Spain will be roughly the size of those in northern Europe with its Nordic Market Unit.

In Italy, E.ON is able to purchase an 80 % stake in Endesa Italia with a good 7.2 GW of power-generating capacity. This will make E.ON the fourth-largest power generator in Italy, again giving it a position similar to that in northern Europe. With their appreciable potential for synergies, these capacities supplement E.ON’s existing activities in power and gas wholesale business and gas sales in Italy. In addition, E.ON will gain access to an LNG terminal.
In France, E.ON will receive, through a 65 % stake in Endesa France/SNET, a power station capacity of approx. 2.5 GW, thus becoming number 3 in the power generation sector.