RWE, E.ON Close Asset Swap

German energy groups E.ON and RWE have completed the final stage of a $25bn asset swap agreed two years ago, with RWE announcing on July 1 it had regained control of some assets from the now E.ON-controlled Innogy.

Innogy, which was set up in 2016 when RWE spun off its renewables, infrastructure and retail businesses, has now been transferred to E.ON. That included the troubled UK retail business, Npower. But RWE is retaining the company's wind, solar and hydropower businesses, as well as its biomass, biogas and gas storage activities. It is also keeping Innogy's stake in Austrian power firm Kelag.

The European Commission cleared E.ON's purchase of Innogy's network, retail and remaining generation assets in September last year. But to alleviate competition concerns, the German group pledged to divest parts of Innogy's retail power business in Hungary and its entire retail electricity and gas operations in the Czech Republic.

E.ON took a 76.8% stake in Innogy from RWE, which in exchange has received a 16.7% stake in E.ON. In February, a court-appointed auditor has approved E.ON's offer of €42.82 ($48.10)/share to Innogy's minority shareholders and the company was delisted.

"This is the day we have been working towards for two years. The new RWE has been completed," RWE CEO Rolf Martin Schmitz said, commenting on the completion of the E.ON deal. "It is a new, bigger and more diverse company, with a clear goal."

Together with RWE's takeover of E.ON's renewable energy activities last year, the acquisition of the Innogy assets will help the company realise its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2040, it said.