E.ON is to acquire Verbund’s share of EnerjiSA, which owns power generation capacity and projects as well as a power distribution business in Turkey. In return, E.ON will transfer its stakes in a number of hydropower plants in Bavaria to Verbund.
The transaction will help E.ON to broaden its energy sector activities away from Europe, where economic woes and a fall in energy demand has put its business under strain.
Last month E.ON announced it had abandoned its profit target for 2013 after reporting a net loss for the third quarter of 2012.
Under the transaction, E.ON will acquire 50 per cent of EnerjiSA, whose current generation portfolio consists of gas-fired, hydro, and wind assets totaling nearly 1700 MW of installed capacity. It also has 2000 MW of capacity under construction and a further 1500 MW under development.
EnerjiSA also operates a power distribution business with about 3.5 million customers in the Baskent region. The company’s remaining 50 per cent share is owned by Sabanci Holding, one of Turkey’s largest financial and industrial conglomerates.
“Following our entry into Brazil at the start of the year, our entry into the Turkish energy market represents significant progress in the implementation of our corporate strategy,” said E.ON CEO Johannes Teyssen. “Turkey has one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, and the rise in its energy demand has been strong and steady.
“This transaction gives us a superb platform for value-enhancing growth outside our markets in Europe.”
