Centrica completes acquisition of US energy firm Vectren Source for $39m
CENTRICA’s US arm Direct Energy has completed a $39m (£25m) cash acquisition of natural gas retailer Vectren Source from Vectren Corporation, a move it said will boost its customer base in the US North East.
Indiana-based Vectren Source has more than 146,000 residential and small commercial customer accounts, with the majority of customers located in Ohio, New York State and Indiana.
In a statement released yesterday, Direct Energy said the deal could deliver significant cost savings and will add to its existing Ohio residential base of 210,000 customers.
“Competitive retail markets in the US Northeast provide us with valuable opportunities to grow our business,” Direct Energy president and chief executive Chris Weston said.
“The acquisition of Vectren Source supports Direct Energy’s strategy to add scale to our downstream activities and forms part of Centrica’s strategic priority to build a leading integrated North American business.”
Last year, Direct Energy acquired the New York-based energy retailer Gateway Energy Services, taking its total number of accounts in the region to more than 800,000.
In September it also agreed to Texas-based energy retailer First Choice Power for $270m.