E.ON CEO Bernotat wants to hold talks with Enel over Endesa stake

E.ON CEO Bernotat wants to hold talks with Enel over Endesa stake

	Published : Wed, 07 Mar 2007 11:56 By : Agencies Print this Story

DUESSELDORF, Germany (AFX) - E.ON AG chief executive Wulf Bernotat said his company wants to hold talks with Enel SpA over the Italian company's Endesa SA stake.

E.ON will 'certainly make an effort' to enter into discussions, the chief executive said at the company's annual press conference.

Earlier in the day, Bernotat said he wouldn't comment on whether the two parties were currently in talks.

He also said that E.ON does not hold any Enel shares at present.

Earlier reports in the German press stated E.ON might seek to acquire a large stake in Enel in order to pressure the Italians to stop acquiring Endesa shares.

Enel announced last week it had acquired a 9.99 pct stake in Endesa for 39.00 eur per share, 0.64 pct above E.ON's own 38.75 eur per share bid for the company.

The company also said it might boost its stake to 24.99 pct. Should it do so it would combine with other parties hostile to E.ON's bid to control 48.99 pct of the Spanish utility.

These parties include the Spanish state, which holds a 3 pct stake, and Acciona SA, which owns 21 pct.

Bernotat said today that there is no evidence that these shareholders are acting in concert to acquire Endesa.

The chief executive noted that 'if you can prove that two or three shareholders are acting in concert' then they would be required by law to issue a formal takeover bid of their own for Endesa.

Bernotat also noted that E.ON has a range of alternative and parallel investment plans to provide for future growth should its Endesa bid ultimately fail.

He said E.ON is still interested in expanding in Russia, where state-owned monopoly United Energy Systems (UES) is slated to privatise some of its assets as part of a plan to modernise its power production infrastructure.

Earlier, UES chief executive Anatoly Chubais was cited in the German press stating this modernisation would cost about 87 bln usd.

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