E ON : to squeeze out remaining shareholders in takeover target Innogy

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German utility E.ON said it would seek to squeeze out minority shareholders in takeover target Innogy as soon as it secures European antitrust approval for the deal.

"This procedure, known as a merger squeeze-out, provided for in company law applicable from a shareholding of 90 percent, allows us to implement the integration plans, which have been developed together with Innogy during the last months, as swiftly as possible." E.ON said in a statement on Wednesday.

E.ON is expected to win EU antitrust approval to buy rival Innogy's network and retail assets by Sept. 20, after E.ON sweetened its concessions to address competition concerns.

The deal is part of a bigger asset swap with Innogy's parent RWE and will more than double E.ON's customers in Germany to nearly 14 million.

E.ON said the cash compensation to remaining shareholders would be determined by an audit company and subsequently be reviewed by a court-appointed auditor.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Mark Potter)

By Ludwig Burger