EU approves Edison-Hellenic JV in Greece
BRUSSELS, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Edison (EDN.MI), Italy's second-biggest power utility, and top Greek refiner Hellenic Petroleum (HEPr.AT) won approval from the European Commission on Wednesday for a joint venture.
The venture would make the combination the second-biggest power operator in Greece.
The 50-50 joint venture aims for a generating capacity of more than 1,500 megawatts, equal to about 12 percent of the fast-growing Greek market, Edison said when the deal was announced in July.
"After examining the operation, the Commission concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area or any substantial part of it," the EU executive said in a statement. The joint venture would be active in power trading and marketing, may invest in renewable energy in Greece and consider opportunities in power generation and trading in the Balkans.
"The horizontal overlaps between the activities of Edison, Hellenic Petroleum and the joint venture are very limited and ... the joint venture's market share would be not significant with regard to the overall installed generation capacity in Greece," the Commission said.
It added there was no danger of the businesses closing off gas and electricity supply markets, because they would have insufficient market share.
Under the deal, Hellenic Petroleum would fold into the new joint venture its T-Power SA subsidiary, which owns a 390 MW gas-fired combined-cycle power plant in Thessaloniki, the first private-sector power plant built in Greece.
Edison would contribute with its 65-percent equity interest in Thisvi SA, which is building a 420 MW combined-cycle plant in Thisvi, central Greece, as well as projects under study to build other power plants. (Reporting by Pete Harrison; Editing by Dale Hudson)
