EU clears E.ON's acquisition of Innogy, subject to conditions

The approval is conditional on full compliance with a commitments package offered by E.ON.

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition by E.ON of Innogy's distribution and consumer solutions business as well as certain of its electricity generation assets.

“It is important that all Europeans and businesses can buy electricity and gas at competitive prices. Today, we can approve the acquisition of Innogy by E.ON because the commitments offered by E.ON will ensure that the merger will not lead to less choice and higher prices in the countries where these companies operate,” said Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy.

E.ON and RWE, which controls Innogy, are both energy companies based in Germany. They are active across the energy supply chain, from generation and wholesale to distribution and retail supply of electricity and gas. They are each active in several Member States but their activities mostly overlap in Czechia, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia and the UK.

The two companies are engaged in a complex asset swap. Following this asset swap, E.ON will focus on the distribution and retail supply of electricity and gas, whereas RWE will be primarily active in upstream electricity generation and wholesale markets.
The decision follows an in-depth investigation of E.ON's proposed acquisition of Innogy's distribution and consumer solutions business as well as certain electricity generation assets of Innogy.

The Commission approved on 26 February 2019, under the EU Merger Regulation, another part of the asset swap, namely RWE's acquisition of certain generation assets held by E.ON.