Vattenfall: going Dutch for 'super league' dreams

In line with its European expansion plans, Sweden's Vattenfall looks set to add the Netherlands to its growing presence outside its core Nordic market and to beef up its existing assets in Germany and Poland, according to Platts Commodity News. However, the company needs to remember that different markets require different entry strategies.

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Shell/Bechtel: exploiting internal synergies for InterGen

Shell should seek to integrate its power venture InterGen into Shell Gas & Power and sell some regulated assets. Then Shell could either invest further downstream in the US electricity market or use its extensive US gas business to exploit the spark spread - rather than being the victim of it.

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RWE: Essent acquisition will boost European presence

Following the unbundling of the Dutch utilities market in July 2008, RWE is poised to purchase Essent, achieving a long held ambition to acquire assets in Holland. Although the E9.3 billion price tag is higher than many expected, RWE will acquire approximately 6,200MW of generation in Holland, with lower levels of emissions than its existing capacity in Germany.

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Reliant: going back to what it knows best

The US power firm's earnings were forced down by losses from its European unit, as well as cooler weather and higher generation costs. Reliant is now expected to divest non-core assets, including its European assets, as it focuses on the US unregulated wholesale power market. This should improve its future prospects.

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Reliant Energy: it could have been worse

Losing $900 million on the sale of 11 Dutch power stations looks like a very bad deal, but it is not in this case. Reliant bought at the peak of the market and overcapacity has depressed asset values across Europe over the last year or so. A price of $370/kW is about right for current market conditions.

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Nuon: shareholders holding out for a better deal

The proposed merger between Dutch utilities Nuon and Essent has hit the buffers, with two Dutch provinces which own 23% of Nuon opposing the planned deal. While it may seem strange that the shareholders would oppose the creation of a new national champion, it could be that they would prefer to hold out for a wealthier suitor such as E.ON or Enel.

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Nuon/Essent: merger could expose holes in European energy policy

Dutch power and gas firms Nuon and Essent have entered into merger talks, which could result in the formation of an E20 billion utility company. While such a large player would benefit from various synergies and economies of scale, the primary aim of the anticipated merger would be more of a defensive ploy than an attempt by the two companies to augment their market-competitive profile.

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NRE: bidding war may require Dutch courage

According to the Dutch financial newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad, NRE, a regional energy supplier in the Netherlands, is going to be taken over. Four potential bidders have been mentioned, and each would have different reasons for doing so. However, given the financial strength of each of the four, the final price is likely to be high.

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Netherlands: Network liberalization will guarantee both consolidation and competition

By creating a fully independent transmission system the Dutch government may hasten Nuon's takeover by a foreign utility. However, after European utilities consolidate, fully independent transmission networks may turn out to have been a prescient policy decision.

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Netherlands green energy: new entrants disagree with incumbents on importance of price

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