The Spanish competition authorities conditionally clear a major merger in the energy sector raising substantial EC and national procedural issues (Gas Natural / Endesa)

Lloreda, Aitor Montesa; Sanz, Angel Givaja

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3 Feb 2006

The Spanish competition authorities conditionally clear a major merger in the energy sector raising substantial EC and national procedural issues (Gas Natural / Endesa)

KEYWORDS

Reference

Spanish Council of Ministers, Gas Natural / Endesa, Orden EHA/193/2006, 3 February 2006

On 12 September 2005, GAS NATURAL (“GN”), the incumbent natural gas utility in Spain, notified the Spanish competition authorities of its takeover bid for the entire share of ENDESA, Spain's main electricity utility [1]. The merger would therefore bring together the nation's largest natural gas company and its top electricity provider. This would have been the first Spanish case in which competition law would play a major role in a company's defence against a hostile take over. ENDESA decided to fight on all fronts and contested the jurisdiction of the Spanish authorities to assess the proposed merger. It approached the European Commission services alleging that the intended deal had a Community dimension and should consequently be notified to the Commission under Article 4 of Council

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Authors

Aitor Montesa Lloreda
European Commission

Belgium 30 contributions 119404 visits
Angel Givaja Sanz
Garrigues (Brussels)

Belgium 28 contributions 104242 visits

Quotation

Aitor Montesa Lloreda, Angel Givaja Sanz, The Spanish competition authorities conditionally clear a major merger in the energy sector raising substantial EC and national procedural issues (Gas Natural / Endesa), 3 February 2006, e-Competitions February 2006, Art. N° 494

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