E.ON has announced its planned acquisition of OVO, the UK residential energy supplier.
The transaction represents a significant investment by Germany-based E.ON Group into the UK market. It said the deal will accelerate consumer energy flexibility.
The energy system has long been shaped upstream, around large-scale generation, but consumer flexibility, digitisation, solar, batteries and EVs change that.
Chris Norbury (pictured), CEO of E.ON UK, said: “For decades the UK energy system focused too much on those upstream. Now is our opportunity to change that. Solar, Consumer flexibility is the key.
“E.ON Next has built a set of capabilities that put the customer at the centre of the energy transition: time-of-use tariffs that reward customers for shifting energy use to cheaper, off-peak periods; steerable assets such as home batteries and EV charging; and integrated energy solutions designed to reduce bills over the long term.
“Together, these turn homes into active participants in the energy system. Every kWh shifted, stored or self-generated is value that would otherwise have been captured somewhere else in the chain.
“Scale amplifies the benefit – for individual customers and for the system as a whole.
“That is the principle behind this deal. It is not about scale for its own sake. It is about building a retailer with the capability, the technology and the customer base to make new energy work for everyone.
“We chose OVO because it’s a modern digitally native business with great people and a shared belief that innovation is what can make energy affordable and sustainable for everyone.”
The transaction is subject to approval by the regulatory authorities, with clearance expected in the second half of 2026. Until closing is achieved, E.ON and OVO will operate as two fully independent businesses.
For customers of both E.ON Next and OVO there will be no change during the regulatory review period and existing tariffs will be honoured in full and service will continue unchanged, they said.