North West power operator bought out in multi-billion pound deal with Spanish giant
A Spanish power giant has completed a £2.1bn takeover deal for Electricity North West.
Iberdrola has announced it has signed an agreement to acquire 88 per cent of Electricity North West (ENW) in the UK for an equity value of £2.1 billion. The deal values 100 per cent of the company, including debt, at approximately €5 billion.
ENW is the North West’s power operator, distributing electricity to almost five million people in the North West of England, in locations such as Preston, Blackpool, Manchester and Lancaster, and has approximately 60,000 km of electricity distribution networks.
This acquisition is consistent with Iberdrola's strategy to invest in electricity networks and in countries with a strong credit rating, such as the United Kingdom . Since its merger with ScottishPower in 2007, the UK has been one of the leading investment destinations for the company, where it has invested around £30 billion in that time. Currently, Iberdrola operates more than 111,400 km of installed power lines in the country, with 40 onshore wind farms and two offshore wind farms in operation.
Ignacio Galán, Iberdrola’s executive chairman, said: "This transaction reinforces our commitment to investing significantly in electricity networks, which are a critical component for supporting the electrification and decarbonisation of the economy. The agreement is also consistent with our strategy to invest in countries that have ambitious investment plans and stable and predictable regulations. As a result of this acquisition, our regulated networks asset base in the UK is now valued at €14 billion. When combined with the US, these two markets now represent two-thirds of our total global regulated asset base.”