China will create world’s largest power utility

According to media sources, the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) stated that the Chinese Government approved the merger of the country’s top coal miner, Shenhua Group Corp. with the a leading power generator, China Guodian Corp. The merger deal is worth USD278 billion and will create the world’s largest power utility with a capacity of 225 gigawatts (GW).

Shenhua’s listed unit, China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd, reportedly stated that Shenhua Group Corp. will absorb Guodian as part of the deal and the new company will be called National Energy Group. The coal-fired power assets will be combined with Guodian’s listed unit GD Power in order to have a new subsidiary that will include 40 plants across all major regions.

According to Bloomberg, analysts believe that Shenhua will reduce its dependence on coal-fired capacity by gaining some of Guodian’s clean energy assets. Guodian will be able to benefit from Shenhua’s coal supply, price risk management and its integrated infrastructure of railways, harbors and ships.