E.ON Next completes Ovo takeover as three suppliers dominate market

E.ON Next completed its takeover of Ovo Energy on 8 October 2026, becoming Great Britain’s second-largest household energy supplier and concentrating almost three-quarters of the market among three groups, the Guardian reported. Ovo’s four million customers face no immediate change, but the deal has renewed questions about competition and customer choice.

Completion follows regulatory approval a week earlier. The Competition and Markets Authority cleared the anticipated acquisition on 1 October and published its full decision on 6 October, according to its merger inquiry page. Thursday’s development is the conclusion of the sale, rather than a new clearance decision.

What the Ovo takeover changes for customers

E.ON Next already supplied 5.6 million households before buying Ovo, according to the Guardian. The newspaper puts the enlarged business’s share of the household energy market at 25%, narrowly behind Octopus Energy’s 26% and ahead of British Gas at approximately 23%.

Those reported shares add up to about 74%. Including EDF Energy and Scottish Power, five suppliers now account for approximately 90% of the household market, the Guardian reports. The description of a new big three refers to their combined dominance; it does not mean that only three suppliers remain.

Competition concerns meet E.ON’s case for scale

Tom Goswell, energy supply lead at consultancy Cornwall Insight, told the Guardian: “The big six have become the big three”. He raised concerns about household choice and the health of the market as supply becomes concentrated in fewer large businesses.

His concern is that fewer competing suppliers could weaken the pressure to keep prices low and offer distinct products. That is an assessment of the risks ahead, rather than evidence of a price increase caused by this transaction. Goswell said the coming years would test whether households shopping around find meaningfully different deals.

Goswell also identified a benefit of larger suppliers: stability. After roughly 30 firms dropped out of the market, leaving customers uncertain about who would send their next bill, he argued that resilience should not be dismissed. His assessment highlights the competing considerations of reliable supply and competitive offers.

E.ON UK chief executive Chris Norbury described the market as “fiercely competitive”, the Guardian reported. He argued that the company’s scale and flexibility would help it serve customers and adapt to the future energy system. Those claimed benefits remain the company’s expectations, rather than demonstrated outcomes of the completed deal.

How the CMA review reached clearance

The CMA’s merger inquiry page identifies the transaction as E.ON SE’s acquisition of OVO Energy Ltd through E.ON UK Limited. The regulator invited initial comments between 8 and 23 July before formally launching its merger inquiry on 2 September.

Its dated decision entry explicitly records clearance on 1 October, although the page still carries an open case label. The published chronology establishes the regulatory outcome; it does not, by itself, explain how the authority assessed each concern about prices or household choice.

From the big six to a more concentrated market

The former big six were British Gas, EDF Energy, E.ON UK, SSE, Scottish Power and npower. According to the Guardian, they controlled about 85% of the market in 2016, when a CMA investigation identified weak competition and estimated annual customer overpayments of £1.4 billion to £1.7 billion.

A wave of newer suppliers, including Octopus, Ovo and Bulb, was followed by contraction and dozens of supplier failures during the 2021–22 energy crisis, the newspaper reports. That history provides context for today’s debate over whether larger businesses can provide stability while maintaining pressure to compete.

Ofgem’s retail market indicators offer a dated baseline: there were 17 active domestic suppliers in March 2026, with no exits during the first quarter. Sixteen supplied both gas and electricity and one supplied electricity alone. Those figures predate the takeover and are not an October supplier count.

What earlier tariff data says about bills

Ofgem recorded an increase in the average number of fixed tariffs available in August compared with July. About 70% of offers were available across the market, down from 74% a month earlier. Around 51% were priced below the cap applying from July to September.

The average fixed-tariff price rose by £73 to £1,692 in August, which Ofgem attributed primarily to wholesale costs associated with geopolitical events. These movements preceded completion. They provide context for household bills, but do not establish October offers or any price effect from E.ON’s acquisition.