UK nuclear generator British Energy is hoping to attract new takeover offers and continue discussions over possible partnership arrangements after rejecting the takeover proposals that it received in May.
British Energy, which generates about one-sixth of the UK’s electricity and which is central to the country’s plans to build new nuclear power stations, said that none of the proposals it received were of sufficient value.
In a statement the company said that although it has been in talks with several companies about a possible takeover, “none of the proposals put forward so far is above the share price at the close of business on Friday 6 June”.
French utility EDF is thought to be the only company to have made a firm bid, priced between 680p and 700p per share. British Energy’s share price on Friday 6 June stood at 735p.
British Energy says that the offers made do not “represent value for shareholders” in the current market environment and the company’s likely role in plans for new nuclear build. EDF and other suitors for British Energy will now be under pressure to raise their bids.
Other companies interested in the takeover of British Energy include Germany’s RWE and Centrica of the UK, both of which tabled indicative bids. British Energy is also considering the creation of partnerships to construct new nuclear power plants at its sites.
The proposals it has received “fail to take proper account of the current forward price of electricity and the value of the Company’s sites and people in the context of nuclear new build”, said British Energy. The company says that it wants to “progress the opportunities … which maximise the value of British Energy’s participation in nuclear new build”.