Ovo Energy has reached agreement with SSE to buy SSE’s GB household energy and related services business. The plan has to be approved by the Competition and Markets Authority, and SSE says that is expected in late 2019 or early 2020, when SSE’s 3.5 million customers will be transferred to Ovo.
SSE said the sale had an enterprise value of £500 million, comprising £400 million cash and £100 million in loan note.
All of SSE Energy Services’ 8000 employees will be transferred to Ovo Energy.
Alistair Phillips-Davies, chief executive of SSE, said: “We have long believed that a dedicated, focused and independent retailer will ultimately best serve customers, employees and other stakeholders – and this is an excellent opportunity to make that happen…
“Following the transaction, SSE will be able to give an even greater focus to delivering the low carbon infrastructure needed to help the UK reach net zero emissions.”
Stephen Fitzpatrick, chief executive and founder of OVO, said: “For the past three years OVO has been investing heavily in scalable operating platforms, smart data capabilities and connected home services, ensuring we’re well positioned to grow and take advantage of new opportunities in a changing market.
“SSE and OVO are a great fit. They share our values on sustainability and serving customers. They’ve built an excellent team that I’m really looking forward to working with.”
Phillips-Davies added, “We have a clear strategy around developing, operating and owning renewable energy and electricity network assets, along with growing businesses complementary to this core. With a large and growing renewable energy pipeline and a leading position in the electricity networks needed to deliver low-carbon energy reliably to homes and businesses in an increasingly electrified economy, we are well placed to create value from the low-carbon transition.”
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