Basil Scarsella, the longest serving CEO in the energy sector, has confirmed he will be staying on as the boss of UK Power Networks after its take over by French energy giant ENGIE.
The French company acquired UKPN on Wednesday in a £15bn purchase from Hong Kong’s CKI group, who had installed Mr Scarsella as CEO when the network was renamed back in 2010. He has been CEO ever since and is now into his 16th year of leading the network.
Catherine MacGregor the ENGIE CEO confirmed during takeover negotiations she was keen for Basil to stay on to provide continuity for its 6000+ staff.
Ms MacGregor said “Basil, it was part of the condition of the acquisiton that you would stay on. Even though we are a large company this is a very signficant transaction. We believe in electrification. We believe electrification is going to need a lot of investment and we intend to accompany UKPN in this growth prospect.”
Mr Scarsella added: “The message to our employees from a strategic perspective, nothing changes. Everything is business as usual.”
The deal is due to complete within three months and is valued at £15bn overall, one of the biggest purchases in the energy sector ever.
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