British Energy investor wants Centrica merger

Reuters
Published: August 24, 2008

LONDON: British Energy's largest investor, Invesco, wants a merger between the nuclear power generator and utility Centrica , The Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported.
British Energy would not comment on the report.
The paper said Neil Woodford, head of investment at Invesco which owns a 15 percent stake in British Energy, said a merger was the obvious solution to the future of both companies.
"Together they (British Energy and Centrica) can work out a joint venture with EDF to build nuclear sites (in Britain)," he told the paper.
On August 4, Centrica said it might revive plans to merge with British Energy after French power group EDF's 12 billion pound bid for the nuclear power company stalled.

However, a government spokesman told Reuters at the time that the preferred option remains a takeover by EDF.
The government, which owns about 35 percent of British Energy, gave the green light in January to new nuclear power stations to help cut carbon emissions and reduce reliance on energy imports.
This sparked takeover interest in British Energy, which lacks the expertise to build new plants but whose land is viewed as the best site for new developments.
(Reporting by Dan Lalor; editing by Elaine Hardcastle)