Centrica agrees deal to buy British Energy stake: reports

Monday, May 11, 2009 at 9:44 PM Posted by Beijing News


British energy firm Centrica is set to announce a deal to buy a 25 percent stake in nuclear company British Energy from French owners EDF, press reports stated Sunday.

Centrica and EDF have been in negotiations for eight months, updating an agreement in principle to buy the stake for about 3.3 billion euros 4.4 billion dollars.

The deal could be signed as early as Monday, said Britain's Sunday Times and Sunday Telegraph newspapers, when Centrica holds its annual general meeting.

Talks dragged on as Centrica argued that falling energy prices should reduce the sale price, but agreement became possible after an offer by Centrica to sell its 51-percent stake in Belgian energy company SPE.

The Sunday Times said EDF would pay a higher price than the 1.35 billion euros Centrica's holding in SPE was worth at the time of purchase to even out the accord.

Debt-ridden EDF said last month of the SPE plan: "This purchase would allow EDF to boost its presence in Benelux, a region it considers strategic."

SPE is Belgium's second-biggest electricity company with around 1.6 million customers and a fifth of the market.

The 49 percent of the company not owned by Centrica belongs to Belgian municipalities and banks.

British Energy runs six nuclear plants in England and two in Scotland, which are due to be de-commissioned.

It has plans for two more, backed by the London government's policy to get more of its electricity from nuclear generation.

Edinburgh, however, says it will not grant planning permission for any new nuclear power stations in semi-autonomous Scotland.

EDF announced it was buying British Energy for 15 billion euros in September 2008, with the deal finally concluded in January.







Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. AFP/Stan Honda

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