GLASGOW, Scotland — ScottishPower PLC said today that it intends to sell its subsidiary Southern Water PLC in a $2.9 billion deal, taking the parent company out of the water business.
The buyer is First Aqua, a company specifically formed for the transaction, ScottishPower said.
Southern Water, based in Worthing, England, serves 1 million customers for water and 1.7 million customers for sewer services.ScottishPower acquired the water company in 1996.
"This is a further important step in focusing ScottishPower as an international energy business and allows us to make a complete exit from the water sector," said Ian Russell, chief executive of ScottishPower.
He said the sale significantly strengthens the ScottishPower balance sheet by reducing group net debt.
ScottishPower provides electricity to 7 million customers in the United Kingdom and the United States, where it owns PacifiCorp, operating in Utah, Oregon, Wyoming, Washington, Idaho and northern California.