Centrica buys Irish firm as UK review looms
CENTRICA yesterday said that together with two investment firms, it has agreed to buy Bord Gais Energy (BGE), in a long-speculated deal that will pump €1.1bn (£920m) into the Irish government’s coffers and mark the energy giant’s first foray into the neighbouring market.
The FTSE 100 firm will buy BGE’s gas and electricity supply business in Ireland and the Whitegate gas-fired power station in Cork for £175m from Bord Gais Eireann, the state-owned energy company. ICON Infrastructure Partners will buy BGE’s natural gas supplier Firmus Energy, while Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners will buy BGE’s renewable generation assets.
While no financials were given for BGE, it is understood that the deal was made at a good premium.
Centrica said the acquisition is expected to be earnings accretive in the first full year of ownership.
The deal, which launched last May but has been slow to finalise as it is effectively three separate acquisitions, is set to close in the first half of 2014.
Centrica received a muted market response yesterday, with analysts calling the deal attractive but minor compared to the findings of the regulators’ competition review that looms later this week. Shares closed up 0.3 per cent.
Centrica is set to reveal that its top management’s pay was slashed by 60 per cent last year in its annual report on Thursday, Sky News has reported.
Centrica declined to comment.