Struggling power supplier SSE has held talks about selling its retail division to telecoms company TalkTalk. SSE has had discussions with several utility providers and is believed to value the division at about £1bn, according to Sky News. It had planned to spin off the division, which supplies about 6m households, into an independent listed entity with rival Npower. However, the deal fell through last year amid changing market conditions. SSE, which is being advised by investment banks Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley, is now stepping up efforts to find an alternative solution. TalkTalk does not sell gas or power but there may be logic in a tie-up as utility companies look to lock in customers with different services. Energy giant Shell’s First Utility sells broadband alongside power and gas. A deal with TalkTalk is unlikely, but the talks show how desperate SSE, run by Alistair Phillips-Davies, has become to get rid of the business. It wants to focus on renewable power generation.
Times 28th April 2019 read more »
Telegraph 27th April 2019 read more »
