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Tuesday, March 1, 2011

PPL nears deal to purchase E.ON's UK grids, source says, (NYSE: PPL)

U.S. power firm PPL Corp (PPL.N) is close to buying German utility E.ON AG's (EONGn.DE) UK power networks, beating off its main rival, Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing, a person familiar with the matter said. The person added that a deal could be announced this week. Li was seeking to add Britain's second-biggest electricity distribution network to the largest, which he bought last year from EDF of France. CNBC reported the PPL deal earlier on Tuesday, saying it was worth about $6 billion in cash. It said PPL won because Ofgem, Britain's electricity regulator, was "concerned about creating an anti-competitive landscape".

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