Wednesday 3 December 2008

Barack Obama mentor Warren Buffett competing with France's EDF for US electricity firm buyout










From Le Monde: EDF concurrence Warren Buffet sur le rachat de l'électricien américain Constellation EDF competing with Warren Buffet over Constellation, American electricity company.
EDF a proposé, mercredi 3 décembre, de racheter 50 % des actions du producteur d'électricité américain Constellation, pour un montant de 52 dollars par action, soit un investissement total de 4,5 milliards de dollars (3,5 milliards d'euros). Le groupe français entre ainsi en concurrence avec MidAmerican Energy Holdings, la société du milliardaire américain Warren Buffett. EDF offered on Wednesday, 3rd December to buy 50% of of the shares of American electricity company, Constellation, at 52 dollars per share representing a total investment of 4.5 billion dollars (3.5 billion euros). The French group is in competition with MidAmerican Energy Holdings, a company owned by American billionaire Warren Buffett.
EDF, I believe is one of the world's largest in electricity production and energy businessess. The French conglomerate is present in many countries and already operates in the UK.

Coming at the heel of the Boeing-led torpedoeing of EADS-Northrop bid there will surely be an outcry from Americans who are some of the worst isolationists in business. We all know how EADS lost the USD 35 billion US Air Force contract it had already won. Detractors had ignorantly claimed that EADS was a French company which it is not -- it is a pan-European company and Northrop-EADS bid would be made up of a grouping of American firms.
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I have no doubt Warren Buffett, the world's richest man, will not allow himself to be defeated in the contest and I have a suspicison he will use his influence with President-elect Obama to make sure France's EDF doesn't win.
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