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)
