Iberdrola buys British distributor Electricity North West for 5 billion euros

Iberdrola has bought the British electricity distributor Electricity North West (ENW) for 5 billion euros, the company said in a statement.

The electricity company has specified that this Friday it signed the acquisition of 88% of ENW for a value of 2.1 billion pounds in equity. The total value of the company, including debt, amounts to 5 billion euros.

With this transaction, the United Kingdom becomes the largest country for Iberdrola in terms of network assets, with around 14 billion euros, followed by the United States, with 13.3 billion euros. It also becomes the second largest electricity network operator in the United Kingdom.

Iberdrola has explained that this acquisition is part of its strategy to boost the network business in countries with a solid credit rating, such as the AA of the United Kingdom, a country that, since the Scottish Power purchasehas been one of the destinations for Iberdrola’s investment, with nearly 36 billion euros.

The president of Iberdrola, Ignacio Sanchez Galannoted that as a result of the ENW purchase, Iberdrola’s regulated network assets in the United Kingdom amount to €14 billion, which, together with a similar amount in the United States, represent two-thirds of all the group’s network assets.

ENW distributes electricity to nearly five million customers in the north-west of England, in cities such as Manchester, Lancaster and Barrow, and has 60,000 kilometres of electricity distribution networks. With the acquisition of ENW, Iberdrola becomes the second largest electricity transmission and distribution company in the United Kingdom.

Iberdrola will distribute electricity to around 12 million people, will have more than 170,000 kilometres of networks and will employ 8,500 people throughout the United Kingdom.

In addition, along with a Japanese investor consortium Led by Kansai, which will retain the 12% of ENW’s capital that Iberdrola has not purchased, they have signed a shareholders’ agreement to collaborate on a long-term basis.