Companies
Endesa bid prompts legal action
German energy group E.ON has begun legal
proceedings over alleged attempts to deceive shareholders in
Endesa, for which it
has launched a €40 per share offer.
E.ON has asked Spain’s stock market regulator, the
CNMV, to open infringement
proceedings against
Acciona and Enel – two major shareholders
in the Spanish energy company - over their announcement of a possible future
offer for Endesa.
E.ON is demanding that Acciona and Enel be forced to divest their
shareholdings in Endesa, be prohibited from buying further Endesa shares, and be
barred from making any offer for the company.
E.ON is also alleging in a New York court that Acciona and Enel have made
misleading disclosures of their plans in respect to Endesa, and is seeking to
have them forced to make corrective statements.
Meanwhile, the European Commission has instigated proceedings against the
Spanish government over its refusal to lift “illegal” conditions it imposed on
E.ON’s bid for Endesa.
The editorial in the Financial Times (FT, 28 March) argued that the takeover battle for Endesa
must be the trigger for Spain to introduce a regime that effectively and
transparently protects shareholder rights.
The CNMV has already banned Acciona and Enel from making a bid for Endesa for
at least six months as a result of their promising investors at least €41 a
share only hours after E.ON had made its bid. However, argued the FT, the
regulator has missed an opportunity by failing to do more, and unless the two
shareholders are threatened with disciplinary action they have no reason to stop
promoting their future plans.
Links
E.ON
Endesa
CNMV
Acciona
Enel
Financial Times
April, 2007 |
