THE ESB has purchased Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) for more than £1 billion (€1.2bn).

ESB has entered into an agreement with the Arcapita Bank-owned Viridian Group for the acquisition, by a wholly-owned subsidiary of ESB, of Northern Ireland Electricity plc (NIE), the Northern Ireland transmission and distribution business of the Viridian Group.

ESB has agreend to purchase Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) in a deal worth more than €1.2bn, it was announced today.

THE ESB is in exclusive talks to buy the power network owned by the Viridian Group in Northern Ireland.

THE Eircom takeover bid from Singapore Technologies Telemedia is the only game in town, according to union representing the majority of workers in the former state monopoly.

The new owners of Northern Ireland electricity firm Viridian have reshuffled their top management.

THE ESB’s ambitions to take over Belfast-based energy company Viridian may be resurrected if Arcapita, the Bahrain venture capital group, decides to sell on the business at a later date.

BAHRAIN-BASED Islamic investment firm Arcapita Bank said yester- day, it had completed its £1.62 billion (€2.4bn) purchase of Viridian Group, the North’s biggest electricity supplier.

The London market continued to build on its five-month high today as utility companies took centre stage and investors cheered another record performance on Wall Street.

The North's main electricity supplier, Viridian, confirmed today that it had agreed to the terms of a £1.6bn (€2.4bn) private equity takeover.

The Bank of Ireland plans to double its corporate Irish business in a growth strategy which has seen it recruit 100 new bankers, the company’s corporate banking chief executive said today.