Could Scottish and Southern be taken over by Sweden's Vattenfall
It has been revealed this weekend that UK energy company Scottish and Southern energy is in talks with Swedish counterpart Vattenfall. The financial press are suggesting an £11 billion takeover could be in the offing with talks said to be at an advanced stage. The move will see yet another of the U.K.'s leading energy companies taken over by a foreign parent amid concerns that the UK government is losing control of the energy sector.
Despite suggestions that the talks are in advanced stages the Swedish company is also in the process of bidding for Holland's second-biggest energy company with many seeing Scottish and Southern as a "fallback". Vattenfall's move for Scottish and Southern has been one of the longest running takeover saga is in the UK stock market with regular speculation appearing over the last decade. However, it would appear there is more significance to the rumours this time and potential for a merger of the two operations.
This comes at a very sensitive time for the UK energy sector where prices are starting to fall back but there is serious debate as to whether the falls are large enough to reflect current prices in the wholesale market.
Share this..
Related stories
Michael Martin under pressure to leave the House of Commons
For the first time in over 300 years there is intense pressure on the current Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin, who has had his authority severely dented over the last few days. His handling of the MP's expenses debacle has received widespread criticism across all political parties and today saw a number of MPs step forward, contrary to popular parliamentary tradition, calling for t...
Read MoreAirlines complain to European Union about passenger compensation
Airlines including British Airways and Ryanair have today complained to the European Union regarding draconian measures which the authorities are looking to use to ensure that airlines reimburse passenger accommodation costs as well as the cost of the travel tickets for those affected by the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud. This has further inflamed a situation which was on the verge of anarchy wi...
Read MoreFourth-quarter economic data disappoints market
While strictly speaking the UK economy has now moved out of recession, unless the figures released by the Office for National Statistics are amended down over the next few weeks, the improvement of 0.1% was far short of the 0.4% expansion expected by analysts. This indicates that the UK economic upturn is far weaker than even the most pessimistic of analysts had expected and a small revision by th...
Read MoreIf you don't ask for a discount you won't get it!
As the recession continues to hit the UK population, more and more people seem to be resigned to losing out on certain areas of entertainment and retail because they appear too expensive. However, such is the situation in the UK retail market that many companies, both online and off-line, will offer you a discount if you ask, and other ways to save money. The art of bartering seems to be well reco...
Read MoreThe power of direct debits
If you do not monitor your direct debit on a regular basis there is the opportunity for you to continue paying for services which are longer use but if you monitor your direct debits on a regular basis and use the service sensibly there is the potential to save significant money in the long term. So how can you save money with a direct debit?
If you consider how many bills you pay e...