COMMISSION SET TO DECIDE WHO WILL JUDGE ENDESA-GAS NATURAL TAKEOVER BID.

The European Commission is expected to announce this week whether Brussels or Madrid will have the final say on Gas Natural's hostile takeover bid for Spanish electricity group Endesa. Under Article 1 of the EU Merger Regulation, when more than two-thirds of a firm's European turnover is made in a single member state, the national competition authority of that state has jurisdiction over the case. Endesa has notified the Commission that more than a third of its EU turnover comes from outside Spain, and therefore requested on September 22 that the takeover be referred to EU competition authorities. The Commission is currently in the process of examining figures provided by Endesa to see if this is really the case.

Even if the bid is to be examined by the Spanish competition authorities, Portugal asked the Commission on September 22 to intervene in the investigation. A Commission spokesman confirmed on October 10 that the Italian authorities have also made a similar request. This is...