National Grid Group plc (National Grid) and Lattice Group plc (Lattice) welcome the announcement today by The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry that she has decided not to refer the proposed merger of National Grid and Lattice (the “Merger”) to the Competition Commission under the provisions of the Fair Trading Act 1973.
The Merger remains subject to the approval of shareholders of National Grid and Lattice, sanction of the Lattice scheme of arrangement by the High Court, and the satisfaction of a number of conditions including regulatory consents and approvals. National Grid and Lattice remain confident that the Merger will complete during autumn 2002.