That Centrica is using a rights issue to fund its acquisition of a 25 per cent stake in British Energy from EDF comes as no surprise. But the timing and size (some £2.2 billion) of the cash call did, which helps explain why Centrica’s shares slipped 6 per cent this morning.

Centrica had been expected to wait until the new year to make an announcement, by which time EDF would have gained a clearer picture from regulators of exactly when its proposed takeover of Britain’s nuclear generator could proceed.

The company had also previously suggested it would use a mixture of around one-third equity and two-thirds debt to fund the £3.1 billion purchase.

That would have indicated a rights issue roughly half the size, or between £1 and £1.5 billion.

The fact that it is much bigger than this reflects the acute recent squeeze in the credit markets.

In an accompanying statement, Centrica appeared to hint that it might use little debt, or even none, to fund the purchase.

If so, there is one obvious asset it could use to do this.

In July, Centrica doubled its stake in SPE, Belgium’s second biggest power supplier, to 51 per cent. But the acquisition was an opportunistic one — the result of a forced sale by GDF-Suez to satisfy regulators following their merger.

The sale of part or all of Centrica’s interest in SPE could allow the group to fund the British Energy deal virtually debt free.

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