Asterion Industrial Partners, the Spanish investment firm, has received the green light from the European Union (EU) for its EUR 2.6 billion (USD 2.76 billion) acquisition of German energy company Steag GmbH. The EU's approval comes as the transaction is not expected to hinder competition in the market.
The European Commission announced on Tuesday that the proposed acquisition does not raise competition concerns, citing the limited market positions of the companies involved. The examination of this deal was conducted under the simplified merger review procedure.
Asterion's plan for the acquisition, agreed upon in August, revolves around expanding Steag's renewables division by investing in green technologies such as hydrogen, batteries, solar, and wind generation, as outlined in an earlier statement.
The acquisition encompasses both business units of Steag—namely, Iqony GmbH and Steag Power GmbH. Iqony specializes in solutions for decarbonization, decentralization, and digitalization of energy supply, with a strong focus on renewable energies and bridging technologies. Their portfolio includes offerings in solar, wind, geothermal energy, hydrogen solutions, storage technologies, engineering services, and modern gas-fired power plants. Meanwhile, Steag Power operates hard-coal-fired power plants at six locations in Germany.
