E.ON Seeks to Sell Its Entire Spanish, Italian Operations - Report

German energy utility E.ON SE (EOAN.XE) intends to sell its entire Italian and Spanish operations as part of a broader strategy to center its European business around its home market Germany, weekly magazine Der Spiegel reports Friday without identifying its sources.

The disposals would include conventional power plants fueled by coal and gas, as well as renewable energies, such as wind and solar farms or hydroelectric plants, the report says. E.ON's new European focus will include the U.K. and Swedish energy markets.

E.ON declined to comment on the report in Der Spiegel, saying only: "We are continuously reviewing the strategic options for optimizing our entire portfolio across our Group."

The company owns and operates power plants with a capacity of more than 6.2-gigawatts in Italy and some 4.5-gigawatts in Spain. E.ON expanded into these markets after a failed attempt to buy Spanish utility Endesa SA in 2008.

Endesa was instead sold to Italy's Enel SpA, which in turn agreed to sell some power plants and energy distribution assets in Italy, Spain and France to E.ON. That transaction was worth around 11 billion euros ($15 billion).

E.ON's expansion into southern Europe was initially aimed at reaping the benefits of robust economic growth in the region. The global financial crisis and the subsequent sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone, however, up-ended that plan.

Poorly performing economies and Europe's heavy subsidies for renewable energies have resulted in a power capacity glut, which has depressed utilities' earnings across the continent. The situation was further exacerbated by repeated government intervention into energy markets, including the introduction of new taxes.

Like many other power generators, E.ON has responded by cutting costs, reducing investment and selling assets worth more than EUR18 billion. It has also shifted its focus to emerging markets outside Europe, including Russia, Turkey and Brazil, in anticipation of higher energy demand growth than in its European home markets.

Magazine website: www.spiegel.de

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