Sale agreed as Bord Gáis sold for €1.12bn

Minister announces sale of Bord Gáis to a consortium after the Government accepted a new revised bid

IRELAND: Bord Gáis will be sold for €1.12bn following approval of a bid by Minister for Energy, Pat Rabbitte and Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin today.

In a statement they announced that they have approved the selection of a preferred bidder for the acquisition of the company.

Today's news comes following the Minister's previous announcement last month that he was withdrawing Bord Gáis from the market, because the bids being submitted did not reach the Government's price range.

Consortium
It's now understood that  a consortium made up of Centrica, owned by British Gas, Brookfield Renewables and iCON Infrastructure will be the new owners of the Irish utility supplier.

The consortium was selected as preferred bidder on the basis of its revised bid which has an enterprise value of up to €1.12bn.

Discussions will now commence between Bord Gáis Éireann and the preferred bidder on finalising the terms of the sale agreement which is expected to be signed in early 2014.

Future for employees
In parallel, Bord Gáis Éireann will engage with its employees, their trade union representatives, and the preferred bidder over employee related matters arising from the proposed sale.

In a joint statement the ministers said that they were pleased with this development.

"Each consortium member brings with it deep industry experience and significant financial strength to support the continued investment in the business. The entry into the all-island energy market of international strategic investors is a strong vote of confidence in the market, the Irish economy and in the Bord Gais Energy business and its employees."

Minister Rabbitte suggested that the successful conclusion of the sale will help provide additional funding to enable more investment in infrastructure and jobs.