EDF takeover bid

French energy group Electricité de France (

) has been granted permission by the European Commission (EC) to acquire British Energy (

) subject to a series of conditions.

The £12.5bn takeover bid was approved by the EC after EDF agreed to release one of three grid connections at BE’s Hinckley Point nuclear plant site and commit to selling a minimum amount to the UK wholesale power market.

Earlier this month, EDF announced that it had increased its share in British Energy to 89 per cent. Plans to secure the rest of the company were met with concerns over EDF’s control of energy prices.

The conditions attached to the acquisition have been implemented by the EC in order to reduce EDF’s control over energy pricing and increase competition within the UK’s energy market.

In a statement, the EC said: ‘Although the combined entity would not have extremely high market shares, the Commission found during its investigation that the transaction, as initially notified, would have been likely to raise serious competition concerns.’

As part of the deal, EDF has also agreed to sell its Sutton Bridge gas facility and BE’s Eggborough coal plant as well as BE’s land at either Dungeness or Heysham. The choice of site will be made by the purchaser.