Acquisition

Scottish & Southern Energy PLC 12 October 2007 SCOTTISH AND SOUTHERN ENERGY PLC ACQUISITION OF FIBRE OPTIC NETWORK Scottish and Southern Energy plc ('SSE') has entered into an agreement to acquire a 1,100km fibre optic network from TeliaSonera International Carrier UK Ltd, for a total consideration of £12.5m. The acquisition means that the network owned and operated by SSE's telecoms subsidiary, Neos Networks, will increase to 3,500km. The asset acquired by SSE comprises a duct containing fibre running between London, Bristol, Manchester and Leeds, plus ten operational repeater sites. This provides SSE with owned fibre capacity throughout the UK, together with local connectivity that could be integrated into its existing network. The enlarged network will enable Neos Networks to provide a greater volume of large bandwidth services. The acquisition follows the sale, in August 2007, of SSE's telecoms sites assets, which was in line with its stated strategy of focusing its telecoms business on network-related services. Ian Marchant, Chief Executive of SSE, said: 'The acquisition of this additional network is clearly in line with the stated strategy for our telecoms business. It will allow us to enhance our provision of networking services to other telecoms providers, companies and public sector organisations, and further develop our telecoms business based around fibre assets, ducts and buildings.' Adrian Pike, Managing Director of SSE's telecoms business, said: 'We have achieved significant growth over the last few years, based on innovation, competitive pricing and quality of service. Extensions such as this to our fibre optic network will provide the foundation for additional growth in the future, complemented by an ongoing focus on customer service.' -ends- This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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