Nuon bid

State-owned Swedish utility Vattenfall has made an €8.5bn (£7.4bn) all-cash offer for the production and supply business of Dutch energy-firm Nuon.

Subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, Vattenfall will initially buy 49 per cent of the shares, with the remaining 51 per cent to be acquired in the next six years.

The payout of dividends is expected to bring the total cost of the acquisition to €10.3bn.

Vattenfall’s chief executive, Lars Josefsson, said that the acquisition is a strategic move to strengthen the group’s foothold in the European energy market and extend its gas operations.

The companies have also stated that off-shore wind and carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects will remain central to the strategic goals of the newly merged group, which aims to be climate neutral by 2050.