The European Commission has approved a deal that will see RWE take control of around 9 GW of renewable energy capacity
The Commission approved the transfer of Eon and innogy’s renewables’ business to RWE on 17 September 2019.
As the deal was approved, RWE pledged to continue its expansion of wind power, solar power and storage technology.
RWE chief executive Dr Rolf Martin Schmitz said the deal “paved the way for the ‘new RWE,’” an enterprise that would be one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies.
“The European Commission has paved the way for one of the most important transformations in the history of German industry,” said Dr Schmitz of the asset swap between RWE and Eon, which is valued at more than €40Bn (US$44Bn).
“The agreements between RWE and Eon will significantly spur the energy transition as they unite the strengths of the two companies and enable them to focus on their places in the value chain,” he said.
From now on, the ‘new RWE’ will focus primarily on electricity generation, increasingly based on renewables. The company will start with a renewables portfolio of an installed capacity of more than 9 GW with more planned.
“Scale plays a major role in achieving success when competing in the field of renewable energy at a global level. We are powerful enough for this market – in terms of financial strength, strategy and personnel,” said RWE chief financial officer Markus Krebber.
RWE will transfer its stake in innogy (76.8%) to Eon. In exchange, RWE will receive an equity interest of 16.7% in Eon along with a seat on the company’s supervisory board.
Subsequently, innogy’s entire renewable energy business, gas storage business and stake in Austrian utility Kelag will also be transferred to RWE. Eon will also receive financial compensation to the tune of €1.5Bn (US$1.7Bn) from RWE. Eon will take over RWE’s grid and customer service segments.
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