Germany’s E.ON starts new chapter

June 26 (UPI) — German energy company E.ON said Tuesday it started a new chapter with the completion of its stake in a Russian energy company to Finland’s Fortun Corp.

The German company received about $4.4 billion after completing the September-announced sale of its 46.65 percent in Uniper to the Finnish corporation. Johannes Teyssen, the head of E.ON, said the sale signals to start of a new phase in direction.

“E.ON is already writing a new, groundbreaking chapter for the future,” he said in a statement. “We will become the leading provider of intelligent energy networks and modern customer solutions in Europe.”

Across the board, the utility company said it added tens of thousands of customers in a German energy market leaving nuclear options behind. It tabled a takeover offer last month for the German activities of Vortex, which has 300 megawatts of wind power development in its immediate portfolio.

In March, the company concluded an agreement in principle with German energy company RWE to acquire more than three quarters of the stakes in renewable energy entity Innogy.

First quarter adjusted net income for the German company was up 38 percent from the same period last year to $862 million. Its renewables division saw earnings increase by about 7 percent to $203 million.

For Uniper, it completed the $2 billion the sale of its 24.9 percent stake in one of the largest natural gas fields in Russia to Austrian company OMV. Uniper said that, even though it was leaving behind one of the premier gas basins in Russia, it was still focused on operations in the country by servicing European consumer needs and working with its “long-standing partner, Gazprom.”