As part of the deal, Centrica will pay €210 million for BGE’s electricity and gas supply business, which has approximately 650,000 residential gas and electricity customers and 30,000 business accounts.
Centrica will also take ownership of the 445MW Whitegate gas-fired power station in County Cork, which was commissioned in 2010.
The other members of the consortium, iCON Infrastructure Partners and Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners, will acquire BGE’s Firmus energy supply and regulated gas distribution assets in Northern Ireland, and BGE’s renewable generation assets respectively.
Sam Laidlaw, chief executive at Centrica, said: “This is a unique opportunity for Centrica to take a first step in a neighbouring market with strong links to the UK, building on BGE’s existing capabilities and delivering value for the group.”
Centrica’s managing director for Ireland, Eddy Collier, added: “As a leading supplier in competitive markets, Centrica is the natural home for BGE at this very moment when the Irish energy industry is on the eve of deregulating gas supply.”
The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2014.