French state-owned utility EDF could seek to buy Irish-owned utility So Energy, a power provider in Great Britain, Reuters reported on Monday, citing a source with knowledge of talks taking place between the companies.
So Energy is majority-owned by Irish company ESB and its 300,000-strong customer base would add to EDF's 5 million customers in Great Britain, the article said, citing Sky News which first reported the plan on Sunday.
A So Energy spokesman told Reuters the company would not offer specific comment beyond that it is looking at a range of options. So Energy did not immediately reply to' request for comment while EDF said it had no comment to offer.
The article said that EDF's potential acquisition would help it compete with rivals Octopus Energy, British Gas and German utility E.On. The latter announced plans in May to buy rival Ovo Energy, another power provider in Great Britain.