Bulb’s 1.5 million customers are to be taken over by Octopus Energy.
BEIS said Bulb’s Special Administrators had been been running a “competitive and extensive” sale process.
Octopus will continue to use Bulb’s technology and brand for a transitionary period so that there is a smooth transfer for Bulb’s customers.
Greg Jackson, chief executive and founder of Octopus Energy Group, said:
“We take our responsibilities very seriously. We will work unbelievably hard to deliver value for taxpayers and to look after Bulb’s staff and customers.
“We started off as rivals but shared the same mission – driving a greener, cheaper energy system with people at the heart. We know how important this is to Bulb’s loyal customers and dedicated staff, and are determined that Octopus can provide them with a stable home for the future.”
Matthew Cowlishaw, Senior Managing Director at Teneo and Special Administrator to Bulb Energy Ltd, said: “We are pleased that we have achieved the objectives of the Special Administration, especially against the backdrop of wider energy market disruption, and that the transition of employees and customers will provide certainty for both going forward.”
BEIS said Government will provide funding to ensure that the special administration is wound up in a way that protects customers’ supply and “recoup these costs at a later date”.
There are three principal elements to the structure of the transaction:
Under the Energy Transfer Scheme, the relevant assets of Bulb will be transferred into a new entity that will be sold to Octopus and will remain ringfenced from its core business for a defined period. Octopus said it was “paying the government to take on Bulb’s customer base – it is believed that this will represent a higher amount per customer than suppliers typically paid to take on any of the 29 suppliers who have failed since September 2021″.
The Transfer will take effect at a time ordered by the Courts, likely 11 November, for the Transfer to become effective likely on 17 November.
As Octopus will need to time to put hedges in place for Spring 2023 and onwards, the government will provide financial support to the new entity for the procurement of energy for Bulb customers over the course of Winter 2022. This will be repaid by the new entity over an agreed repayment schedule.
A profit-share agreement will be put in place for the ringfenced business until agreed funding is repaid by Octopus, which said the profit share agreement would last for up to four years. Under this structure payments to shareholders or the wider Octopus group from the ringfenced entity will be restricted until the repayable funding to government is repaid.