Hessian and Lower Saxon energy supply companies have joined forces under the name "Stadtwerke Mitte" to jointly bid for the buyback of E.ON Mitte shares.
23 municipal utilities from Hesse and Lower Saxony have signed a consortium agreement to jointly bid for the purchase of E.ON Mitte shares. This consortium agreement is the result of strategic preparatory work by the 23 partners, which was initiated at the suggestion of Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG). The partners in the consortium called "Stadtwerke Mitte" are Stadtwerke Göttingen, Stadtwerke Marburg, Stadtwerke Gießen, Oberhessische Versorgungsbetriebe in Friedberg, Kreiswerke Main-Kinzig in Gelnhausen, Frankfurt-based Mainova AG and Gesellschaft für kommunale Kooperation (GkK), which represents a further 17 municipal utilities in Hesse and Lower Saxony.
By acquiring a stake in E.ON Mitte, Stadtwerke Mitte aims to strengthen the municipal energy supply and drive forward the energy policy realignment of the regions concerned. Once agreement had been reached on important strategic issues, the partners officially applied to the existing municipal shareholders of E.ON Mitte AG - twelve districts in Hesse and Lower Saxony as well as the city of Göttingen. On 28 May 2013, the companies signed a consortium agreement in Marburg to send a clear signal to the existing municipal shareholders.
Background and objectives
The consortium members have formulated the common goal of maintaining E.ON Mitte and expanding the new E.ON Mitte as a municipally owned and regionally anchored energy supply company that secures its competitive position as a comprehensive network operator in its region. The consortium members are committed to their ecological responsibility. They are aware of the major challenges that energy supply companies face with regard to climate protection and the energy transition. Stadtwerke Mitte is therefore pursuing the goal of supporting the new E.ON Mitte in actively shaping the energy transition in its regions. This includes, for example, tackling new innovative and sustainable projects that make an effective long-term contribution to climate protection. In addition, the company will act as a joint attractive competitor in electricity and gas sales for private and business customers, actively shape the energy transition and drive forward the expansion of renewable energies. The consortium also plans to expand the new E.ON Mitte in the energy services business area.
The consortium members would like to contribute their combined expertise, which they have gained over many decades as municipal energy supply companies, and work together with the other existing shareholders in the districts to drive the further development of the new E.ON Mitte. The offer to implement a successful remunicipalisation of E.ON Mitte with the consortium has now been consolidated with the recently concluded consortium agreement.
With the signing of the consortium agreement, 23 municipal utilities have submitted an attractive offer to the existing shareholders for the remunicipalisation of E.ON Mitte in partnership.