Scottish & Southern: "No Change" On EDF UK Power Grids Sale

13th Jul 2010 16:04

LONDON (Dow Jones)--U.K. utility Scottish and Southern Energy PLC (SSE.LN) said Tuesday there was "no change" to its previous statement regarding Electricite de France SA's (EDF.FR) sale of its U.K. electricity distribution networks. On June 1, SSE said it had decided not to seek to acquire an ownership interest in the networks on a scale that would need to be funded by a share issue, but it would continue to work with Canada's Borealis Infrastructure on the sale process, which could result in SSE having a small ownership interest in the networks. "That is still the case and there has been no change," the SSE spokeswoman said referring to the statement. A spokesperson for Borealis could not immediately be reached for comment. Earlier Tuesday, Reuters reported that the consortium of Scottish & Southern and Borealis had withdrawn from the sale process for EDF's British power grids. EDF is selling its three U.K. low-voltage distribution grids as part of a plan to reduce its debt. Other bidders include Hong-Kong-based Cheung Kong Infrastructure, or CKI (1038.HK), and a consortium comprising sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Macquarie Capital and Canada Pension Plan. Buyers are likely to be looking at valuations of around GBP4 billion to GBP4.5 billion, while EDF may be looking at GBP4.5 billion to GBP5 billion for the assets, people familiar with the matter have said. -By Selina Williams, Dow Jones Newswires +44 207 842 9262; [email protected] -0- (MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires July 13, 2010 11:04 ET (15:04 GMT)