Brussels gives green light to sell 50% of Aboño to Oppidum

The EU Commission has authorised EDP – Energias de Portugal to sell half of the power stations group Aboño to the Corporación Masaveu which holds Oppidum, the second largest shareholder in the company according to the Lusa news agency.

In a statement, the EU executive announced that it had “approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control of Aboño Generaciones Eléctricas, of Spain, by Energias de Portugal, of Portugal, and Corporación Masaveu, S.A., of Spain”.
Brussels states that this operation, which “mainly concerns the electricity generation market in Spain”, does not raise “competition concerns, since the companies do not operate in the same market or in vertically related markets”.
For this reason, the operation was approved after being examined under the simplified procedure for analysing concentrations, the institution said.
Last October, EDP announced to the market that it had applied to close three coal-fired power stations in Spain and sold half of the Aboño power station group to its second largest shareholder, in order to convert another coal-fired power station to gas.
In a statement sent to the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM), EDP said it had submitted a “request for authorisation to the electricity system operator (Red Eléctrica) to close the Aboño I coal-fired power station, as well as EDP’s other coal-fired power stations in Spain (Soto 3 and Los Barrios)”.
In addition, the electricity company reported on the creation of a new partnership with the Asturias-based industrial group Corporación Masaveu – which controls Oppidum, EDP’s second largest shareholder – through the sale of a 50% stake in Aboño, reflecting an enterprise value of around €350 million and an equity value of €60 million for 100% of the asset.
There are also plans to convert the Aboño II thermal power station in Spain from coal to gas, “expected to take place in mid-2025 and representing a ‘mid double-digit’ million euros investment, continuing to operate on the combustion of blast furnace gas, a case study in circular economy in Europe through the enhancement of this by-product, avoiding the emission of 1 million tonnes of CO2 per year”.
Aboño consists of a group of two thermal power stations (Aboño I and II) with a total installed capacity of 904 Megawatts (MW), near Gijón and the port of Musel, and, according to the company, plays an important role in supporting the security of the electricity supply to the Asturias region.
“The new partnership between EDP and Corporación Masaveu, consolidated by EDP using the equity method, provides for joint control in the management of Aboño and the transfer of the plants’ liabilities,” EDP explained, adding that it will retain 100% of the management and “the development of the just transition projects underway at Aboño, namely hydrogen and renewable energy projects.”