The European Commission has endorsed the acquisition of a 49.9% stake of the French transmission system operator RTE by the state-owned Caisse des Depôts et Consignations (CDC).
Previously in December 2016, the French energy group EDF signed a binding agreement with Caisse des Dépôts and CNP Assurances on the sale of a 49.9% indirect stake in its fully-owned subsidiary, power transmission grid operator RTE, for nearly €4.1bn (final agreed value was set at €8.2bn for 100% of RTE equity).
By the end of 2016, the group announced that it would transfer all RTE equity shares to a new joint venture and would sell 49.9% of the equity capital of the joint venture to Caisse des Dépôts and CNP Assurance, retaining 50.1%. The completion of that second step is expected in the first half of 2017, once the approval from the relevant merger control authorities has been obtained. By 2020, EDF plans to sell around €10bn in assets to reduce its debt and finance large investments.