UK Government to Sell Failed Energy Supplier Bulb to Octopus (1)

The UK government is close to a deal that will see Octopus Energy Ltd. acquire Bulb Energy Ltd., which went bust last November, as soon this week, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Octopus, which already has more than 2 million customers, will become the UK’s third largest energy supplier after adding Bulb’s roughly 1.5 million households. The combined numbers could see it rival the market share of Centrica Plc’s British Gas and EON SE.

Bulb collapsed when wholesale prices spiked above the regulator’s price cap, forcing it to sell energy at a loss. The government stepped ...