NORTHUMBRIAN Water is set to be de-listed from the stock exchange in October when it taken over in a £2.4bn deal by a Hong Kong company.

The Durham-based business said today that shares would be suspended on October 12 and the company de-listed on October 14 as the takeover by UK Water goes ahead.

UK Water, which is a consortium owned by Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Limited (CKI), Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited and Li Ka Shing Foundation Limited, got the nod for the deal from Northumbrian at the start of this month.

Northumbrian announced the planned timetable for the changes to shareholders this morning. The deal has to be approved at a court meeting in London on September 19 and rubber-stamped by a special resolution at a general meeting of shareholders.

CKI, which is owned by Hong Kong tycoon and Asia’s richest man Li Ka-shing, has already said there will be few changes to the day-to-day operations of Northumbria which is headquartered at Pity Me and employs 1,648 people.