E.ON to name Merck KGaA CEO Kley as supervisory board chairman

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - E.ON on Wednesday said Merck KGaA Chief Executive Karl-Ludwig Kley was nominated to become the German utility's supervisory board chairman, succeeding Werner Wenning who will step down on June 8. Germany's Merck KGaA said last year it would promote its deputy chief executive, Stefan Oschmann, to the top job in April 2016 to replace Kley, who would retire after 10 years at the helm of the chemicals and drugs maker. German monthly Manager Magazin had quoted Kley in December as saying he would take the chairman's role at airline Lufthansa if it was offered to him. E.ON, which plans to spin-off its ailing power plants business later this year, on Wednesday posted a record loss for the second year in a row, following asset writedowns worth more than half its market value. (Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Christoph Steitz)