The UK energy transmission system operator (TSO) National Grid has agreed to sell a 60% stake its UK gas transmission and metering business, National Grid Gas (NGG), to a consortium of Macquarie Asset Management, a global asset manager, and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, a Canadian institutional investor, for £2.2bn (€2.6bn) in cash consideration (subject to customary completion adjustments). Following the transaction, National Grid will own a 40% stake in NGG via a new holding company called GasT TopCo. In addition, National Grid will also receive around £2bn (€2.4bn) from additional debt financing at completion.
National Grid has also entered into an option agreement with the consortium for the potential sale of the remaining 40% of equity in GasT TopCo, which may be exercised by the consortium between 1 January 2023 and 30 June 2023 (subject to change depending on the timing of the closing of the deal). The agreement is subject to certain antitrust and regulatory conditions. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2022.
NGG transmission network comprises approximately 7,660 km of high-pressure pipe and 23 compressor stations connecting to 8 distribution networks and other third-party independent systems. NGG also owns and operates an independent metering business, with approximately 8.4 million domestic and commercial meters as of March 2021.