Centrica buys stake in BE and plans new nuclear facilities

As part of a new deal brokered with the French energy provider EDF, Centrica will help build new nuclear power stations in the UK with at least four new generation reactors planned, most likely close to existing sites in Sizewell in Suffolk, and Hinkley Point in Somerset.

Centrica, which owns British Gas, announced this morning that an agreement has been reached with EDF energy for a 20 percent stake in British Energy (BE) but at a much lower price than the £3.05 billion for a 25 percent stake reached last September.

Having paid £2.3 billion for a 20 percent stake, Centrica shares rose by 2.97 percent to 234.25p.

The payment is made up of £1.1 billion in cash and 51 percent of Centrica’s stake in the Belgian Energy company Société de Production d’Electricité (SPE).

It is understood that Centrica is placing its other European operations under strategic review as Roger Carr, Centrica’s chairman, said that the deal improves the strategic balance of the business as well as enhancing green credentials.

The sale of SPE will allow for further growth in both the UK and America.

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