High drama marks end to UK utility bid battle

Just as the fate of Hyder, the Welsh power and water utility, appeared to be sealed, bringing a particularly acrimonious chapter in European power sector consolidation to a close, another fight loomed on the horizon, threatening to scupper the deal at the eleventh hour. Western Power Distribution’s (WPD) bid of $840 million for Hyder appeared to have beaten a rival bid from Nomura, the Japanese investment bank, when Severn Trent, another UK water utility said it would begin immediate legal action challenging the break-up of the Hyder group.