RWE eyes sale of Npower
GERMAN utility giant RWE is said to be considering the sale of its UK business Npower for £5bn as it struggles to pay down debts.
The owner of Npower, one of Britain’s biggest electricity suppliers, has hired Goldman Sachs to review the company’s prospects, it is understood. Iberdrola, the Spanish owner of Scottish Power, is seen as a likely buyer.
A sale would allow RWE to cut its own large debts and fulfil demands to invest in green power stations.
A spokesman for the company refused to comment yesterday but said the UK was still a “core market for RWE”.
RWE, Germany’s second largest energy company, bought Npower – then known as Innogy – for £3.1bn in 2002
Npower supplies energy to 6.8m homes in Britain and generates eight per cent of the UK’s electricity.