GDF Suez completes takeover of International Power

GDF Suez said Friday it had completed its buyout of Britain's International Power with the 8.3 billion euro purchase of the remaining 30 percent that it did not own. "I am pleased to announce the completion of this transaction, which represents a key milestone in the development of GDF Suez overseas and enables the Group to assert itself as the leading utility in the emerging world," GDF Suez chief executive Gerard Mestrallet said in a statement. The French company acquired last year 70 percent in International Power, the world's leading independent power producer, for 1.4 billion pounds (1.7 billion euros, $2.2 billion), to create the world's number two electricity generator. This April it offered to acquire the rest, but had to raise the price to 8.3 billion euros. The French giant was formed in 2008 by the fusion of public enterprise Gaz de France and Suez, a private Franco-Belgian company. It specialises in processing liquefied natural gas and energy production. International Power runs 45 power plants worldwide.