Following the withdrawal of one of the three bidders from the sales process, it now looks unlikely that Bord Gáis’s retail and power generation division will be sold before 2014.

Viridian Group Ltd — Northern Ireland’s largest energy supplier — hired Macquarie Group Ltd to advise on its bid for the retail and power generation unit of Irish state-owned gas company Bord Gáis, people with knowledge of the matter said.