German giant energy utility E.ON has decided to sell its entire coal and gas generation assets in Italy to Czech energy company Energetický a Průmyslový Holding (EPH), corresponding to a total generation portfolio of 4,500 MW. The transaction includes the 600 MW Fiume Santo coal-fired power plant in Sardinia and six gas-fired power plants totalling 3,900 MW. The transaction is subject to the approval of the European Union competition authority. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2015.
EPH holds assets in power and heat generating companies and energy distribution and sales companies in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Germany (mining). The group is increasingly active on the power market, through successive acquisitions; in November 2014, it acquired the 1,960 MW Eggborough coal-fired power plant in Goole, in the United Kingdom. It also acquired a 49% stake in Slovakian gas utility SPP in 2013.