Latest news with #Iberdrola
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Scottish Power plots Ovo merger to create Britain's third-largest energy supplier
The Spanish owner of Scottish Power has held talks about a merger with Ovo to create Britain's third-largest energy supplier. Iberdrola has been in preliminary discussions with Ovo about a tie-up to combine the two companies' 6.4m customers, Sky News reported, potentially creating a new business to rival British Gas and Octopus, the UK's two largest gas and electricity suppliers. Ovo was launched in 2009 as a challenger to the traditional 'big six' and became Britain's fourth-largest energy provider in 2020 when it acquired SSE for £500m. The business now has 4m customers, although it has faced criticism for customer service failings and overcharging households in recent years, which have led to fines from Ofgem, the regulator. Scottish Power was bought by Spanish energy giant Iberdrola in 2007 for £11bn, but customer numbers have declined in recent years. It now serves 2.4m households, according to the latest data. Any potential tie-up would involve Ovo's shareholders and Iberdrola retaining stakes in the combined group, with the Spanish company potentially putting more cash into the business. No announcement is believed to be imminent and one source suggested that a deal between the two was unlikely. However, if successful, it would become the third-largest household energy supplier in the UK. Speculation of a potential merger comes after Ovo hired bankers at Rothschild last year to raise hundreds of millions of pounds in new investment. Ovo's shareholders, including the Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi and the investment funds Mayfair Equity Partners and Morgan Stanley Investment Management, are willing to raise cash either through a sale or by bringing in a new backer. Stephen Fitzpatrick, the company's founder, also remains a significant shareholder but is no longer involved in running day-to-day operations. The company has brought in Justin King, the former Sainsbury's chief, to chair the company and David Buttress, the former Just Eat boss who served as Boris Johnson's cost of living tsar, as its chief executive. Meanwhile, Scottish Power's owners have increasingly focused on its renewables business in recent years, turning it into one of Britain's biggest wind power providers. Scottish Power and Ovo declined to comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Scottish Power plots Ovo merger to create Britain's third-largest energy supplier
The Spanish owner of Scottish Power has held talks about a merger with Ovo to create Britain's third-largest energy supplier. Iberdrola has been in preliminary discussions with Ovo about a tie-up to combine the two companies' 6.4m customers, Sky News reported, potentially creating a new business to rival British Gas and Octopus, the UK's two largest gas and electricity suppliers. Ovo was launched in 2009 as a challenger to the traditional 'big six' and became Britain's fourth-largest energy provider in 2020 when it acquired SSE for £500m. The business now has 4m customers, although it has faced criticism for customer service failings and overcharging households in recent years, which have led to fines from Ofgem, the regulator. Scottish Power was bought by Spanish energy giant Iberdrola in 2007 for £11bn, but customer numbers have declined in recent years. It now serves 2.4m households, according to the latest data. Any potential tie-up would involve Ovo's shareholders and Iberdrola retaining stakes in the combined group, with the Spanish company potentially putting more cash into the business. No announcement is believed to be imminent and one source suggested that a deal between the two was unlikely. However, if successful, it would become the third-largest household energy supplier in the UK. Speculation of a potential merger comes after Ovo hired bankers at Rothschild last year to raise hundreds of millions of pounds in new investment. Ovo's shareholders, including the Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi and the investment funds Mayfair Equity Partners and Morgan Stanley Investment Management, are willing to raise cash either through a sale or by bringing in a new backer. Stephen Fitzpatrick, the company's founder, also remains a significant shareholder but is no longer involved in running day-to-day operations. The company has brought in Justin King, the former Sainsbury's chief, to chair the company and David Buttress, the former Just Eat boss who served as Boris Johnson's cost of living tsar, as its chief executive. Meanwhile, Scottish Power's owners have increasingly focused on its renewables business in recent years, turning it into one of Britain's biggest wind power providers.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Spanish-owned Scottish Power sparks merger talks with Ovo Energy
Scottish Power, the Spanish-owned energy supplier, and larger rival Ovo Energy have begun holding exploratory talks about a merger that would create a company serving more than 6 million British households. Sky News has learnt that executives from Iberdrola, which owns Scottish Power, and Ovo have been engaged in preliminary discussions in recent weeks about the possibility of a deal. The talks are at an early stage and any formal transaction would be months away, if it materialised at all. If the two companies do agree a merger of their residential gas and electricity operations, it would create the third-largest supplier behind Centrica-owned and Octopus Energy. As the larger company, with 4 million customers, Ovo would probably be the acquiring entity, but with Iberdrola potentially contributing cash and remaining as a shareholder in the enlarged group, according to one banking source. Scottish Power serves about 2.4 million households. The discussions between the two companies are running in parallel to a separate process through which Ovo is exploring the potential to raise roughly £300m from the sale of new shares in the company, according to industry sources. In recent weeks, a number of financial investors have been contacted by Rothschild, the investment bank advising Ovo, about the opportunity. Exactly a year ago, Sky News revealed that to explore options, including bringing in a new investor or a sale, 15 years after it launched in a bid to challenge the industry's oligopoly. Founded by Stephen Fitzpatrick, the entrepreneur who now owns London's Kensington Roof Gardens, Ovo's shareholders include the private equity firm Mayfair Equity Partners, Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Mitsubishi Corporation, the Japanese conglomerate. Under Mr Fitzpatrick, who launched Ovo in 2009, the company positioned itself as a challenger brand offering superior service to the industry's established players. Ovo's transformational moment came in 2020, when it , transforming it overnight into one of Britain's leading energy companies. Read more from Sky News: Its growth has not been without difficulties, however, particularly in relation to its challenged relationship with Ofgem and a torrent of customer complaints about overcharging. Justin King, the former chief who now chairs Ovo, has made repairing its regulatory relationships a priority for the company. He also oversaw the recruitment of David Buttress, who was briefly cost-of-living tsar after leaving the top job at Just Eat, as its chief executive. Key to Ovo's longer-term valuation will be the performance of its technology platform, Kaluza, which was set up to license software to other energy suppliers and provides customers with smart electric vehicle charging and heat pumps. Ovo announced last year that AGL Energy, one of Australia's biggest energy suppliers, had bought a 20% stake in Kaluza at a $500m (£395m) valuation. The British energy company has also entered the electric vehicle car charging sector under the brand Charge Anywhere, adding tens of thousands of public charging points across the UK. Iberdrola bought Scottish Power in 2007 in a deal valuing the company at more than £11bn. Next week, the UK's by 7% to £1,720 a year, following an announcement by Ofgem, the industry regulator. Ovo and Scottish Power both declined to comment.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Spanish-owned Scottish Power sparks merger talks with Ovo Energy
Scottish Power, the Spanish-owned energy supplier, and larger rival Ovo Energy have begun holding exploratory talks about a merger that would create a company serving more than 6 million British households. Sky News has learnt that executives from Iberdrola, which owns Scottish Power, and Ovo have been engaged in preliminary discussions in recent weeks about the possibility of a deal. The talks are at an early stage and any formal transaction would be months away, if it materialised at all. If the two companies do agree a merger of their residential gas and electricity operations, it would create the third-largest supplier behind Centrica-owned and Octopus Energy. As the larger company, with 4 million customers, Ovo would probably be the acquiring entity, but with Iberdrola potentially contributing cash and remaining as a shareholder in the enlarged group, according to one banking source. Scottish Power serves about 2.4 million households. The discussions between the two companies are running in parallel to a separate process through which Ovo is exploring the potential to raise roughly £300m from the sale of new shares in the company, according to industry sources. In recent weeks, a number of financial investors have been contacted by Rothschild, the investment bank advising Ovo, about the opportunity. Exactly a year ago, Sky News revealed that to explore options, including bringing in a new investor or a sale, 15 years after it launched in a bid to challenge the industry's oligopoly. Founded by Stephen Fitzpatrick, the entrepreneur who now owns London's Kensington Roof Gardens, Ovo's shareholders include the private equity firm Mayfair Equity Partners, Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Mitsubishi Corporation, the Japanese conglomerate. Under Mr Fitzpatrick, who launched Ovo in 2009, the company positioned itself as a challenger brand offering superior service to the industry's established players. Ovo's transformational moment came in 2020, when it , transforming it overnight into one of Britain's leading energy companies. Read more from Sky News: Its growth has not been without difficulties, however, particularly in relation to its challenged relationship with Ofgem and a torrent of customer complaints about overcharging. Justin King, the former chief who now chairs Ovo, has made repairing its regulatory relationships a priority for the company. He also oversaw the recruitment of David Buttress, who was briefly cost-of-living tsar after leaving the top job at Just Eat, as its chief executive. Key to Ovo's longer-term valuation will be the performance of its technology platform, Kaluza, which was set up to license software to other energy suppliers and provides customers with smart electric vehicle charging and heat pumps. Ovo announced last year that AGL Energy, one of Australia's biggest energy suppliers, had bought a 20% stake in Kaluza at a $500m (£395m) valuation. The British energy company has also entered the electric vehicle car charging sector under the brand Charge Anywhere, adding tens of thousands of public charging points across the UK. Iberdrola bought Scottish Power in 2007 in a deal valuing the company at more than £11bn. Next week, the UK's by 7% to £1,720 a year, following an announcement by Ofgem, the industry regulator. Ovo and Scottish Power both declined to comment.
Scottish Sun
4 days ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Energy giant with 5million customers in merger talks to create UK's 3rd BIGGEST gas & electricity supplier
The combined company could serve six million British households SAY WATT Energy giant with 5million customers in merger talks to create UK's 3rd BIGGEST gas & electricity supplier TWO major energy suppliers are in talks about a merger. If it goes ahead it would create the UK's third-largest gas and electricity retailer. Advertisement 3 Spanish-owned Scottish Power could be set to join Ovo Energy in a merger Credit: Alamy 3 The combined companies could serve six million British households Scottish Power, owned by Spain's Iberdrola, and Ovo Energy are in talks to create a merger. It would create a company serving more than six million households, Sky News reports. Talks are still in the early stages, and any formal agreement will take months if it goes ahead. With Ovo being the larger company, serving four million customers, they are likely to be the acquiring entity. Advertisement Iberdrola would potentially contribute cash and remain as a shareholder. If they do merge, it would create the third-largest supplier, behind Centrica-owned British Gas and Octopus Energy. Scottish Power currently serves around 2.4 million households. Alongside the potential merger, Ovo is aiming to raise £300 million from the sale of shares in the company. Advertisement Last year the company hired Rothschild to explore options around new investors or a sale. Rothschild has reportedly contacted financial investors in recent weeks. Stop Making This Air Conditioning Mistake: How to Slash Your Summer Energy Bill Ovo became one of the UK's leading suppliers in 2020 after it bought the retail supply arm of SSE. Since Justin King became Ovo's chair, the company has prioritised repairing its regulatory relationships. Advertisement Iberdrola bought Scottish Power in 2007 for over £11 billion.
