1st Jun 2005 12:01
Scottish & Southern Energy PLC01 June 2005 SSE COMPLETES GAS DISTRIBUTION NETWORK INVESTMENT Scotia Gas Networks plc ("SGN"), the company in which Scottish and SouthernEnergy plc ("SSE") has an equity interest of 50%, has today completed theacquisition of the Scotland and the South of England gas distribution networksfrom National Grid Transco plc ("Transco"). The total value of the acquisitions is £3,162m. Of this, £2,082m is being fundedby non-recourse borrowings and £1,080m is being funded by equity and shareholderloans. This means that, in return for a cash consideration of £540m, SSE willreceive 50% of the distributable earnings from the networks. In total, the two networks - now named Scotland Gas Networks and Southern GasNetworks - comprise 73,000km of gas mains, delivering gas to around 5.6mindustrial, commercial and domestic customers. Under an agreement with SGN, SSEis providing certain corporate and management services for the two networks. John Morea, previously Director of Distribution for SSE, has been appointedChief Operating Officer of SGN and Surinder Toor, previously Managing Directorof American Electric Power's European business, has been appointed ChiefFinancial Officer. Ian Marchant, Chief Executive of SSE, said: "I am delighted that thisacquisition has been successfully completed. Our interest in gas networks makesSSE the second largest distributor of energy in the UK. As with electricity, ourpriority will be to ensure that SGN distributes gas to its customers safely,reliably and efficiently." Enquries to: Alan Young, Director of Corporate Communications 0870 900 0410Julian Reeves, Communications Manager 0870 900 0410 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
SSENational Grid