On Friday, Iberdrola announced it will acquire 88% of Electricity North West (ENW) for £2.1 billion (€2.5 billion), valuing the entire company, including debt, at around €5 billion (£4.2bn).
It is worth noting the acquisition is pending standard regulatory approvals.
The energy giant explained this acquisition aligns with its strategy to invest in electricity networks and strong credit-rated countries like the UK, which has an AA credit rating.
Since merging with ScottishPower in 2007, Iberdrola has invested approximately £30 billion (€36 billion) in the UK.
Following this deal, the UK became Iberdrola’s top market for regulated assets, valued at about €14 billion (£12bn), surpassing the US, which has €13.3 billion (£11.4n) in regulated assets.
ENW distributes electricity to nearly five million people in the North West of England, covering areas such as Manchester, Lancaster and Barrow, and manages around 60,000 kilometres of electricity networks.
With this acquisition, Iberdrola will now serve around 12 million people in the UK, extending its network to over 170,000 kilometres and employing more than 8,500 people in the country.
Iberdrola will collaborate with a consortium led by Kansai, which will retain 12% of ENW’s capital.
ScottishPower operates transmission and distribution networks in south-central Scotland and Merseyside, North Wales and Cheshire, and is a major energy supplier with 4.2 million customers.
Iberdrola also has significant renewable energy operations in the UK, including 40 onshore and two offshore wind farms, with plans to build the East Anglia Three offshore wind farm, one of the world’s largest, with a capacity of 1,400MW.
