Shareholders in Northern Ireland's electricity supplier Viridian are today expected to vote in favour of a £1.6 billion (€2.4 billion) takeover bid.
An extraordinary general meeting is being held in Belfast to sanction the deal with Bahrain-based Electricinvest.
Viridian owns Northern Ireland Electric (NIE), Energia and Powerteam.
Around 40,000 people bought stock when the company was floated on the stock market in 1993. The company is offering to pay £13.36 per share. When Northern Ireland Electricity was floated, the share price was £2.20.
The bid is being supported by the board of Viridian. By December 8th the matter should be complete, with cheques posted within 14 days.
Customers are not expected to see any change in their service.
NIE is the largest supplier of power to homes in Northern Ireland, while Energia supplies businesses and also runs the Huntstown power station near Dublin.