U.S. energy supplier PPL Corp is close to a $6 billion cash deal to buy the UK electricity grid distribution business of E.ON AG, according to a person close to the deal.
E.ON's U.K. electricity grid distribution business is the U.K.'s second-largest electricity generator as well as its second largest distribution network, supplying power to more than five million customers in central England.
This is not the first time PPL Corp has made a deal with E.ON AG. Back in April of 2010, PPL Corp agreed to pay $6.7 billion in cash for E.ON AG's U.S. utility division.
Insiders tell me OFGEM, Britain's electricity regulator, is familiar and satisfied with E.On's operating history with PPL and were concerned about creating an anti-competitive landscape if Hong Kong's Li Ka-shing made the deal because of his other European electricity holdings.
The deal is expected to be formally announced sometime after the market closes.
Neither company could be immediately reached to confirm the story.
A Senior Talent Producer at CNBC, and author of "Thriving in the New Economy:Lessons from Today's Top Business Minds."
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