French utility to acquire owner of electricity cables and power lines across London, south-east and east of England
A French utility has agreed to buy the owner of the electricity cables and power lines across London, the south-east and the east of England in a deal worth £10.5bn.
Paris-headquartered Engie said on Wednesday that it had struck a deal to buy UK Power Networks (UKPN) in a “major milestone” for the company’s ambition to become the “best energy transition utility”.
Engie will buy the electricity network operator, which operates about 192,000km of power lines serving 8.5 million customers across London and southern and eastern England, from a Hong Kong-based conglomerate founded by billionaire business magnate Li Ka-shing, which has owned UKPN for the past 15 years.
The chief executive of Engie, Catherine MacGregor, said: “The acquisition of UK Power Networks marks a major milestone in the implementation of our strategic priorities.
