Sse Defends (Pounds) 3bn Transco Asset Deal; Scottish and Southern Energy's Move to Become the Uk's Second-Largest Gas Distributor has Led to Both Criticism and Applause. Ian Fraser Hears Both Sides of the Divide

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IAN Marchant, the 43-year-old former accountant who runs Perth- based Scottish and Southern Energy, is proud to boast of following in the footsteps of his predecessor Jim Forbes and avoiding overpaying for energy assets.

But even Marchant's fans in the City of London believe that the former Coopers & Lybrand accountant may have broken the mantra with last week's highly leveraged acquisition of two gas distribution networks from National Grid Transco (NGT).

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Sse Defends (Pounds) 3bn Transco Asset Deal; Scottish and Southern Energy's Move to Become the Uk's Second-Largest Gas Distributor has Led to Both Criticism and Applause. Ian Fraser Hears Both Sides of the Divide

In the biggest deal of SSE's short life (the company was formed from the merger of Southern Energy and Scottish Hydro-Electric in September 1998 and celebrated its sixth anniversary last week) it agreed to buy two of NGT's local gas distribution zones (LDZs) for (pounds) 3.16 billion.

When the deal completes on April 1 ...

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