Brussels - The European Union's executive on Monday approved the takeover of British nuclear generator British Energy by French power firm Electricite de France (EdF) as long as the companies sell off a certain number of assets, officials in Brussels said. The 12.5-billion-pound deal, worth 18.7 billion dollars at current prices (and 22.9 billion dollars when the contract was signed on September 24), sees EdF, the world's largest nuclear generator, take control of eight of Britain's 16 nuclear power plants.
It comes as the British government is keen to revitalize the country's ageing nuclear sector in a bid to boost energy security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
But the European Commission, which oversees the EU's strict competition laws, decided that the takeover could give EdF too strong a hold in Britain's power-generating market, and demanded that the company sell off certain assets first.
These include one gas- and one coal-fired power station, and one of two sites earmarked for building a next-generation nuclear power plant.
EdF must also pledge to sell a minimum amount of the electricity it generates on the British wholesale market and end one of the merged company's three supply deals with Britain's national power grid to make sure that rivals have full access to the network.
The commission "concluded that the transaction, as modified by these commitments, would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it," a statement released in Brussels said.
