EWE and EnBW seal strategic partnership

Shares transferred - Transaction completed in Oldenburg

Oldenburg, Germany, 21 July 2009. The strategic partnership between EWE AG and EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG has now been made official. The EWE shares were transferred to EnBW today, Tuesday 21 July 2009. This concludes the transaction, which was recently approved by the German Federal Cartel Office and involved EnBW acquiring 26 per cent of the shares in EWE. The total volume of the transaction is approximately €2 billion.

EWE's CEO, Dr. Werner Brinker, believes the collaboration considerably strengthens both partners and therefore also supports the energy industry in Germany. "Customers, employees and local authorities will all benefit from this cooperation", Brinker announced. The EWE Group provides jobs for more than 5,000 people. He went on to say that the two companies would immediately begin discussing joint projects.

Hans-Peter Villis, CEO of EnBW, said "Today sees the beginning of a long-term, successful partnership. Both EWE and EnBW are strong companies in two regions that complement one another ideally, and they share the same understanding of markets and partnerships".

EnBW's involvement with EWE is also a success for the local authorities. It allows the 21 districts in the Ems-Weser-Elbe Versorgungs- und Entsorgungsverband alliance to dispose of the stock acquired from E.ON in 2004. "In the medium term, it will relieve the local authorities of the interest payments associated with the funding", said Henning Schultz, Managing Director of Ems-Weser-Elbe Versorgungs- und Entsorgungsverband.

"EWE has benefited from having a strategic partner in the past", emphasised Günther Boekhoff, Chairman of the Supervisory Board. The move is important as it lays the foundations for EWE's ongoing positive development.