Viridian owns Northern Ireland Electricity, Energia, Powerteam and the Huntstown Power Station. ElectricInvest proposes to acquire the entire issued and to-be-issued share capital of the power utility in a deal that values the company at around GBP1.6 billion, or GBP13.25 a share.
ElectricInvest said that it believes the acquisition of Viridian represents an opportunity to achieve stable returns from both its regulated and non-regulated electricity businesses. ElectricInvest also stated that it intends to support Viridian’s management in further developing its businesses in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
The directors of Viridian have said that they consider the terms of the proposal to be fair and reasonable, and thus intend to recommend shareholders vote in favor of the deal.
The announcement came a day after Viridian shares surged around 15% when the company confirmed speculation that it was considering a takeover approach.
