§ 37. Mr. EDEasked the—Minister of Transport whether his attention has been called to the terms upon which the share capital of the Egham and Staines Electricity Supply Company has been acquired by the Metropolitan Electric Supply Company; and, seeing that the terms represent an appreciation of over 100 per cent. of the nominal capital of the Egham and Staines Electricity Supply Company, whether he proposes to take any steps to ensure that the burden of increased capitalisation shall not fall upon the consumers of electricity in the area of either of the companies concerned?
§ Mr. HERBERT MORRISONIt has been stated by the Chairman of the Metropolitan Company that the company recently made an offer to the ordinary shareholders of the Egham and Staines Electricity Supply Company to acquire their Ordinary shares in exchange for Ordinary shares of the Metropolitan Company; the Egham and Staines shareholders to receive one Ordinary share of the Metropolitan Company for each Ordinary share held in the Egham and Staines Company and that the necessary number of acceptances of this offer were received. As the exchange was made on the basis of "share for share," the latter part of the question does not arise.