Flick Gocke Schaumburg represents EU Commission in successfully dismissing further actions against RWE-E.ON deal

Flick Gocke Schaumburg has successfully represented the Commission of the European Union in rejecting actions brought by three municipal utilities, Mainova, enercity and Stadtwerke Frankfurt am Main, against the acquisition of RWE Innogy by E.ON (Case M.8870).

The action brought by Stadtwerke Frankfurt am Main was dismissed as inadmissible, while the actions brought by Mainova and enercity were dismissed as unfounded. The Commission’s decision to grant clearance in the M.8870 case was issued subject to conditions following an intensive review (“phase 2”).

The assessment of the decision as lawful marks a milestone in the defence of the Commission’s decisions.

Advisor to the EU Commission: Flick Gocke Schaumburg

Dr. Florian Haus (antitrust law)

In 2019, the Commission decided not to oppose an asset swap between E.ON and RWE through three concentration operations in two cases, M.8870 and M.8871. These were the acquisition by RWE of E.ON’s electricity generation business, the acquisition by RWE of shares in E.ON, and the acquisition by E.ON of Innogy, a subsidiary of RWE. In total, ten municipal utilities and the energy provider Naturstrom had brought actions for annulment against the decision not to oppose the asset swap.

Dr. Florian Haus has already acted, inter alia, in three of the actions brought against Decision M.8871 (dismissal judgments of May 2023 in Cases T-320-322/20; currently on appeal to the ECJ). <<<