Invesco Seeks British Energy, Centrica Merger, Telegraph Says

By Sarah Thompson

Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Invesco Ltd.'s head of investment Neil Woodford is pushing for a merger between British Energy Group Plc and Centrica Plc, the Sunday Telegraph reported, citing an interview with Woodford.

Invesco is the largest institutional shareholder with a 15 percent stake in nuclear power producer British Energy, the Telegraph wrote, and also holds a 5 percent stake in Centrica, the U.K.'s biggest energy supplier. ``Together they can work out a joint venture with EDF to build nuclear sites,'' the Telegraph quoted Woodford as saying.

Woodford is to lay out his plans to the Shareholder Executive, the body which manages the sale of government assets on Aug. 26, the newspaper wrote.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Thompson in London at sthompson17@bloomberg.net