Suzlon of India has emerged the victor in the bid battle for German wind power group, Repower, after the spiralling cost of a takeover forced France's state-owned nuclear group Areva to back down.

Suzlon's victory, with a cash offer of €1.2bn ($1.6bn), marks only the second contested bid battle by an Indian company in Europe and will reinforce its position as one of the world's leading suppliers of wind turbines at a time when the market is growing rapidly. However, it also deals a severe blow to Areva's ambitions to become a global operator in renewable en-ergy beyond nuclear power.