Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 10, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026
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Romania is reviewing E.ON's sale to MVM due to Russian influence fears, causing E.ON shares to drop. Security concerns are similar to Spain's past actions.
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Shares in E.ON fell on Friday after Romania's energy minister told the Financial Times that a planned disposal of a local division to Hungary's MVM was under review, partly due to fears of potential Russian influence.
Sebastian Burduja was quoted by the FT as saying that the planned sale of E.ON's 68% stake in E.ON Energie Romania could be blocked on security grounds, similar to Spain's move last year to veto a Hungarian bid for Madrid-based train maker Talgo.
E.ON Energie Romania is one of Romania's biggest gas and electricity providers, serving around 3.4 million customers.
Burduja said the country's government would not allow Russian gas to enter its borders, reflecting concerns over Hungary's close ties to Russia.
Shares in E.ON were 2.1% lower at 1003 GMT.
E.ON last month announced the planned sale to MVM, which still gets most of its gas from Russia unlike most European countries, adding the transaction was expected to close in the first half of 2025.
E.ON declined to comment. MVM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Anita Komuves, editing by Friederike Heine and Thomas Seythal)
Romania's energy minister indicated that the planned sale of E.ON's stake could be blocked on security grounds, particularly due to concerns over Russian gas.
E.ON announced a planned sale of its 68% stake in E.ON Energie Romania to Hungary's MVM.
E.ON Energie Romania is one of the largest gas and electricity providers in Romania, serving approximately 3.4 million customers.
Shares in E.ON fell by 2.1% following the announcement of Romania's review of the planned disposal.
The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2025, pending the outcome of the review.
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