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We made good progress in implementing our strategy in the last financial year. In early 2009, we underscored our plans by making a takeover offer for Essent, the leading Dutch energy utility. We are confident of being able to bring this transaction to a successful conclusion in the third quarter. This would enable us to achieve three goals at once: obtain a leading position on the Benelux market, improve our CO2 balance, and substantially strengthen our position in the converging North West European energy market. This is in line with the objective of our Strategy Agenda 2012, which aims to strengthen RWE as one of Europe’s five largest energy utilities.
On completion of the Essent acquisition, we want to focus on integrating the company, generating organic growth, and taking measures to avoid CO2. Concurrently, we will make the RWE Group’s business processes and structures more efficient. One of the focal points is our German operations: Increasingly fierce competition in electricity and gas supply requires us to review our regional organization and create a uniform, nationwide platform. Further organizational adjustments will be made to our German grid business due to the introduction in January 2009 of incentive-based regulation and EU transmission network regulations.
