(BRUSSELS) - The European Commission approved on Tuesday Austrian power group Verbund and Turkish conglomerate Sabanci's plans to jointly purchase Turkish electricity company Baskent EDAS (Bedas).

Verbund said in July that it and Sabanci had won bidding to buy Baskent, which supplies electricity to 2.9 million customers in and around the Turkish capital of Ankara and is being privatised.

Each partner would hold 49 percent directly, with the remaining two percent held by Enerjisa, a 50-50 joint venture between Verbund and Sabanci.

Text and Picture Copyright 2008 AFP. All other Copyright 2008 EUbusiness Ltd. All rights reserved. This material is intended solely for personal use. Any other reproduction, publication or redistribution of this material without the written agreement of the copyright owner is strictly forbidden and any breach of copyright will be considered actionable.