German utility E.ON SE plans to sell Innogy SE's electricity and gas retail business in the Czech Republic with the help of French bank BNP Paribas SA, Bloomberg News reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
On Sept. 17, E.ON secured the approval of the European Commission to take over Innogy, the final part of the complex asset swap with Innogy parent RWE AG. In order to get clearance for the deal, E.ON had offered to divest its entire power and gas supply business in the Czech Republic, among others, in order to address competition concerns.
According to the Bloomberg report, E.ON is looking at starting the formal sale process for the Czech retail business in the coming weeks. The unnamed sources told Bloomberg that the assets could fetch as much as €1 billion, or US$1.1 billion.
