E.ON buys subsidiary in $7.1B deal

E.ON will acquire Statkraft's 44.6 percent stake in the subsidiary as well as a Swedish hydropower plant as part of the deal signed in Stockholm. In return, state-owned Statkraft will get E.ON shares worth 2.18 billion euros and take over dozens of E.ON power plants in Europe.

They include 40 hydropower and five district heating plants in Sweden, 10 hydropower and two gas power plants in Germany and one hydropower plant in Britain, the companies said.

"With this agreement, we will gain a strong platform for growth and investment in the Nordic region," E.ON chief executive Wulf Bernotat said in a statement.

He said E.ON planned to invest 6 billion euros ($9.4 billion) in the Nordic market through 2013, "strengthening energy security and our position in the region."

The deal is to be completed by the end of the year, pending approval from antitrust authorities.