AES agrees to acquire Premier Power Limited

AES Corporation, based in Arlington, Virginia, has entered into an agreement with BG Energy Holdings to acquire Premier Power Limited (PPL), owner of the 1,246MW natural-gas-fired Ballylumford Power Station in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

AES’s new subsidiary, AES Ballylumford Holdings, will acquire PPL through an all-cash transaction and the final purchase price will incorporate working capital adjustments.

The £99m transaction is subject to licence consents from the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation and the Northern Ireland Department of Enterprise, Trade and Industry and is expected to close in the second half of this year.

AES is no stranger to Northern Ireland, having acquired the Kilroot Power Station in Carrickfergusin in 1992, which today uses coal and oil to generate 622MW of power, after the company expanded its generation capabilities in 2009.

The majority of Ballylumford’s output is contracted to Northern Ireland Electricity.