OREANDA-NEWS. E.ON SE for the first time gave its shareholders the option of partially converting their cash dividend, which for the 2013 financial year was EUR 0.60 per share, into shares of E.ON treasury stock. Until May 15, 2014, E.ON shareholders could convert EUR 0.43 per share of their dividend entitlement. The remaining EUR 0.17 will be paid out in cash and, where necessary, be used to cover tax obligations.

A large number of E.ON shareholders took advantage of the new option. At a participation rate of 37 percent, they opted to convert their cash dividend entitlements for the 2013 financial year into shares of E.ON stock. E.ON will distribute a total of 24 million treasury shares to shareholders. The cash dividend totaling EUR 840 million will be paid out and E.ON shares will be issued on May 23, 2014.

“Since we announced the dividend option in March of this year, the response from our shareholders has been very positive. This is reflected in the high participation rate of 37 percent. The results exceed our expectations and please us very much, particularly since E.ON doesn't have any large shareholders. Institutional as well as retail investors contributed to the success of the dividend option, and we'd like to thank them all for their confidence in us,” said E.ON CFO Klaus Schafer.