Octopus Energy wins High Court battle to buy Bulb

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Octopus Energy wins High Court battle to buy Bulb

Bulb, which has around 1.6 million customers, is currently run by government appointed administrators after being bailed out by the taxpayer.

The applications from the rivals are now the only obstacle to Bulb's assets being transferred to Octopus, according to Zacaroli.

The wrangling will not affect Bulb customers who will remain under the government's appointed administrators until a deal for a buyer is finalised.

The business department of BEIS approved a deal with Octopus to buy Bulb in October and is expected to be completed by the end of November.

After Wednesday's ruling by the High Court, Octopus Energy said that taxpayers will be saved from millions of dollars and even billions of costs that could have been incurred if the process was dragged out.

This is positive news for Bulb's customers and staff, and helps to bring an end to the huge financial exposures for government and taxpayers. In written submissions to the court on Tuesday, Stephen Robins, King's Counsel for Scottish Power, said that the marketing of the Bulb sale was defective and that the auction should be re-run to allow for alternative bids.

Justice Zacaroli said he did not have any visibility or control over the timing of judicial review proceedings, which could still derail the deal.

Since the collapse of the Royal Bank of Scotland in 2008, the bailout was the biggest by the state. The support for the firm will cost around 6.5 billion dollars, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility OBR.