UK: “Big Six” energy merger called off after CMA clearance

Npower and SSE, two of the UK’s big six energy firms, will no longer go ahead with their planned merger.

The merger was given the final green light by the Competition and Markets Authority in October, but the companies have failed to reach an agreement to continue.

The board of SSE said that the decision to call off the merger was influenced by a range of factors, including the changing energy market and clarity over the new energy price cap, which comes into effect in January.

“We closely monitored the impact of all developments and continually reviewed whether this remained the right deal to do for our customers, our employees and our shareholders. Ultimately, we have now concluded that it is not,” said Alistair Phillips-Davies, CEO of SSE.

“We believed at the time it was the right thing in terms of what we saw. There was a significant prize to go for,” he added. “But market conditions changed over the past 13 months.”

Mr Phillips-Davies said the deal had been hampered by a combination of factors including the level of a price cap on some bills being introduced from January, the performances of the two businesses and a “very, very competitive market.”

Full Content: Financial Times

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