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Oct. 10, 2003 - Norway's state-owned power firm Statkraft SF it had bid for German utility group E.ON's stakes in German gas firm VNG and EWE as part of its strategy to expand in Europe.
"I can confirm that we have entered a bid for E.ON's stakes in EWE and VNG," Statkraft's chief spokesman Ragnvald Naeroe said.
He declined to give a value for the bids for the 27.4 per cent stake in EWE and 42.1 per cent stake in VNG. "There is an opportunity now as the stakes are for sale," Naeroe said.
Utility giant E.ON must sell the stakes in VNG, the leading eastern German gas importer and supplier, and in EWE, a north-western regional energy distributor, as part of the conditions tied to its takeover of national gas market leader Ruhrgas earlier this year.
The circle of potential bidders for shares in VNG, Germany's second biggest gas firm, has narrowed in recent months to French state-owned GdF and a consortium of Russian gas giant Gazprom and Germany's Wintershall.
Other early contenders, Germany's fourth biggest utility EnBW, and E.ON rival RWE are beset by financial worries of their own which should curtail their expansionist ambitions for the time being, analysts say.
A source close to VNG recently told Reuters a decision in the transaction may be taken by the end of this year. Power company Statkraft has continental European offices in Amsterdam and Duesseldorf, where it also handles gas.
Statkraft's Naeroe said of the transaction, "This is linked to the strategy of Statkraft. We see there will be a convergence between electricity and gas in Europe."
A group of regional VNG shareholders have said they will exert a preferential option to buy ten per cent percent of the stake on the block so the initial stake to be sold may only total 32 per cent.
But other VNG shareholders, such as gas firm BEB or Norway's Statoil, are said to be considering disposing of some or all of their stakes, raising the potential for further parcels becoming available.
EWE, which has made inroads into some eastern European markets, is expected to be targeted by Dutch utilities, as its operations are strategically well placed on the North Sea coast.
Northern European gas pipelines terminate there at the German/Dutch pipeline hub, which feeds major continental distribution networks.
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