Scottish Power owner Iberdrola has agreed to acquire 88% of Electricity North West (ENW) for £2.1 billion (€2.5 billion). The deal values 100% of the company, including debt, at approximately €5 billion. Geographically, ENW is located between the two existing ScottishPower networks licence areas, in central and southern Scotland and Merseyside and North Wales.
Iberdrola said the acquisition was “consistent with Iberdrola’s strategy to invest in electricity networks and in countries with a strong credit rating”. It stressed that since it merged with ScottishPower in 2007, it has invested around £30 billion in the UK. With the completion of the deal, the UK becomes Iberdrola’s leading market by regulated asset base.
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 decarbonization 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.”
ENW distributes electricity to almost five million people in the North West of England, in locations such as Manchester, Lancaster and Barrow, and has approximately 60,000 km of electricity distribution networks.