April 27 (UPI) — German energy company E.ON said Friday it was making its share offer for rival Innogy final, putting the utility on its way to a leadership position in Europe.
E.ON, the German utility, published the details of its $6.3 billion offer for a share in Innogy, a spinoff from the larger energy group RWE.
Plans were unveiled in March to divide up pieces of Innogy, giving RWE parts of its renewable segment and E.ON parts of the gas and power network.
“Following the acquisition of innogy, E.ON will be the first formerly integrated utility to focus entirely on meeting the demands of its customers across Europe,” E.ON CEO Johannes Teyssen said in a statement.
Saying one year ago that it was “back on track,” RWE said green energy division Innogy put the parent company on solid financial ground. Last week, RWE said the agreement to transfer the majority stake in Innogy it holds over to E.ON “offers the biggest potential with a view to rising to the challenges of the energy transition in networks, retail and generation.”
Germany’s energy sector is shifting focus away from nuclear power and fossil fuels to one focused more on renewables, leaving conventional-focused energy companies like RWE scrambling to catch up. Germany as a whole has one of the greener economies in Europe and RWE already moved in the low-carbon direction by working with port officials to create infrastructure to fuel vessels with cleaner-burning liquefied natural gas.
RWE said last week said its outlook for profitability this year was slightly lower than for 2017, but noted the company was “prepared for this.” The spinoff with E.ON, meanwhile, will lead to thousands of job losses.
“We are acutely conscious of our responsibility towards employees of both companies,” Teyssen said
Innogy shareholders have until July 6 to accept the offer.
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