Stockport electricity network operator acquired in £2.1 billion deal

Stockport based power network operator, Electricity North West, has been acquired by Spanish energy giant Iberdrola in a £2.1 billion deal.

Iberdrola, which merged with Scottish Power in 2007, has taken an 88% share in Electricity North West, valuing the company at approximately £4.2 billion. The acquisition sees the Spanish firm operate the electricity networks across an area from North Wales through to Scotland’s Central Belt, and makes the UK the €14 billion company’s leading market.

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.”

Electricity North West distributes electricity to almost five million people in the North West of England, covering approximately 60,000 km of electricity distribution networks from Cheshire to the border with Scotland. 

Acquisition of Electricity North West now takes Iberdrola’s operations to covering more than 111,400 km of power lines, alongside 40 onshire and two offshore wind farms which generate over 3,000 MW electricity, equivalent to powering two million homes. The company is also behind construction of a further 1,400 MW offshore wind farm, East Anglia Three, set to be the second largest in the world once it completes.