The organisation representing the 7,800 workers at the biggest Dutch energy concern, Essent, on Friday approved plans for a merger with Germany’s RWE.

The formal agreement for the €9.3bn takeover was signed today, says Essent in a statement.
Essent’s central workers council said the most important reason for approving the deal is to secure the continuation of the company.
The deal has been widely criticised in the Netherlands because of RWE’s focus on coal-fired power generation.
However shareholders (local governments) must tender at least 80% of the Essent’s shares if the deal – which also requires regulatory clearance – is to go through.
The status of Essent’s 50% stake in Holland’s only nuclear power station at Borssele remains unclear. RWE has said this is an integral part of its offer but change of ownership is not possible without the consent of Dutch energy firm Delta which owns the remaining 50%.