EdF starts process to integrate BE
13 January 2009
Electricité de France (EdF) has begun the process of the integration of British Energy (BE) following its takeover of the company. The first steps have been to decide on the new structure of EdF's UK operations and to make some key appointments.
EdF said that following its takeover of nuclear generator BE, all the business of BE and EdF Energy, its UK energy supply subsidiary, will be combined under a new entity that will retain the EdF Energy name. However, British Energy will remain a separate company in its own right.
Vincent de Rivaz has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the new EdF Energy. He has announced an outline of the new structure of EdF Energy and its executive team.
The new EdF Energy will comprise four business units, each led by a managing director. The Existing Nuclear unit will be led by current BE CEO, Bill Coley. Humphrey Cadoux-Hudson, currently Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of EdF Energy, will head the Nuclear New Build unit. The Energy Sourcing and Customer Supply division will be led by Martin Lawrence, currently Chief Operating Officer (COO) of EdF Energy's Energy Branch. Meanwhile, Laurent Ferrari will head EDF Energy's Networks unit, a post he currently holds.
Thomas Kusterer, currently Senior Vice President of Finance at German utility EnBW, has been appointed as CFO of EdF Energy as of 1 April, while Eva Eisenschimmel, currently COO of EdF Energy's Customer Branch, will become Chief Officer, People, Organization and Brand Performance.
Paul Spence will move from BE's Head of Strategy to become EdF Energy's Director of Strategy and Regulation. EdF's current Head of Economics and Industrial Strategy Department of its generation business, Goulven Graillat, has been appointed as Nuclear Senior Advisor and Group Nuclear Synergies Officer. Meanwhile, Peter Hofman remains as Integration Coordination Director of EdF Energy.
In a statement, EdF said that in the transitional phase whilst the new company is established, existing roles and responsibilities within BE and EdF Energy remain unchanged.
In early January, Lake Acquisitions Ltd - a wholly-owned subsidiary of EdF - announced that EdF's offer to acquire BE was now wholly unconditional. It said that by 5 January it had received valid acceptances for the ordinary offer and the convertible offer in respect of a total of 1,550,102,522 BE shares, representing in aggregate some 96.44% of the current issued share capital of BE. At the end of December 2008, EdF's offer for BE was approved by European authorities, but both parties will have to divest power stations, and more land must be sold for new nuclear build.
The EdF Group employs some 161,500 people worldwide, including almost 144,000 in Europe. Its EdF Energy subsidiary alone has around 12,000 employees in the UK. BE employs some 6000 people.