COLUMBUS, Ohio — Exelon Corp. on Thursday sweetened its hostile takeover bid for rival power generator NRG Energy Inc. by 12 percent to $8 billion in stock, citing newly identified cost savings along with NRG’s recent deal for Reliant Energy’s Texas retail business.

NRG Chairman and CEO John Rowe said that the new proposal is Exelon’s “best and final offer.” The former offer has a current value of about $7 billion.

“Together the two company’s shareholders get something very rare, a truly effective combination in an industry in which significant profitable growth is very hard to come by,” Rowe said in a morning conference call.

NRG, which owns power plants in Houston as well as the Reliant Energy retail electricity brand, rejected Exelon’s previous offer, saying it undervalued the company.

In early May, Freddie Mac said it would seek the additional funds to help offset its worsening books as it continues to hemorrhage cash amid the ongoing housing market downturn. It was the third time since Freddie Mac was taken over in September that it has requested funds.

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NEW YORK  — Dow Chemical Co. said today it will close three Louisiana plants as part of a shift away from basic chemicals toward the lucrative business of specialty chemicals.

The shuttering comes as part of a massive plan to cut costs after Dow bought rival Rohm & Haas in April for more than $16 billion, a deal that added massive amounts of debt to its balance sheet.

Dow expects to take a $700 million second-quarter charge as part of Wednesday’s announcement, but expects to cut costs by about $100 million a year.

The approximately 100 people who work at the plants will be offered jobs elsewhere, Dow said.

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The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 12.49 points, or 0.3 percent, at 4,281.54 while France’s CAC-40 fell 7.93 points, or 0.3 percent, at 3,185.75. Germany’s DAX was 9.20 points, or 0.2 percent, higher at 4,875.89.

The relatively lackluster tone was expected to continue at the U.S. open, with Dow futures up only 9 points, or 0.1 percent, at 8,467 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 futures rose 1.5 point, or 0.2 percent, to 922.70.

“There seems to be a distinct lack of conviction in either direction for traders at the moment and low volatility is the order of the day,” said Anthony Grech, market analyst at IG Index.

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Oil prices rose to near $70 a barrel Monday on news that militants in Nigeria attacked an offshore oil platform belonging to Royal Dutch Shell PLC.

Traders also were awaiting a fresh batch of economic indicators due later this week for signs of improvement in the U.S. economy.

By mid-afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for August delivery was up 64 cents to $69.80 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier in the session, the contract peaked at $70.06. On Friday, it fell $1.07 to settle at $69.16.

Shell spokesman Precious Okolobo confirmed the militants' attack early Monday on the company's facilities and said production had been partially shut down.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta is one of the main militant groups which have caused significant damage to the oil infrastructure in Nigeria, Africa's largest crude exporter.

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