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26 March 2007 - E.ON has raised its takeover bid for Spanish power company Endesa by 3.2 per cent to €42.4bn ($56.2bn), intensifying a takeover battle with Enel.
The bid was increased to &euro 40 a share, from a previous offer of €38.75, the German-based company said in a statement. E.ON first bid for the Spanish power company in February 2006.
Spanish regulators opened the door for E.ON's latest increase on 23 March after Rome-based Enel and Acciona, which together control 46 per cent of Madrid-based Endesa's stock, said they could make a joint offer should the German company's proposal fail.
Spain's stock market regulator said Enel and Acciona had probably breached takeover rules. Enel and Acciona, based in Madrid, must now wait six months after E.ON's tender ends to make an Endesa offer, unless E.ON pulls its bid, the regulator said.
E.ON's previous bid would have lapsed on 29 March. The regulator said it would extend the tender to 3 April if E.ON improved the takeover offer.
Endesa's 22 million customers and hundreds of power plants make the company a prize as the European Union opens the region's energy market to more competition from 1 July. E.ON Chief Executive Officer Wulf Bernotat has raised his bid for Spain's biggest power utility three times as he battles opposition from the Spanish government.
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