Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advises on the financing of Macquarie Asset Management and BCI's investment in National Grid's gas transmission and metering business

International law firm Clifford Chance is advising the lenders on financing in connection with the agreement by a consortium of Macquarie Asset Management and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (the "Consortium") to acquire a 60 per cent stake in National Grid’s gas transmission and metering business.

National Grid owns and operates the UK’s regulated national gas transmission system and an independent gas metering business. The 7,660-kilometre transmission system plays a critical role in the UK energy landscape, reliably transporting the gas needed to heat homes and power industry and electricity generation.

The Consortium will partner with National Grid to ensure the national gas transmission system and metering business remain secure, safe, and reliable while enabling the UK to accelerate its transition away from fossil fuels, at least cost to consumers.

An increased role for hydrogen in the energy mix, and by extension development of the network, is a core element of the UK Government’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution. The Consortium will actively support and develop several projects currently being progressed across the national gas transmission system to ensure the opportunities presented by hydrogen to the UK are maximised.

Completion of the transaction will be subject to certain antitrust and regulatory conditions. Subject to these clearances, the Consortium expects that the transaction will complete in the second half of calendar year 2022.

The finance team was led by partners Michael Bates and William Sutton and senior associate Julia House, supported by Natalia Veriasova, June Ng and Alex Hpa. Corporate expertise was provided by Nigel Wellings (partner), Lianne Mizrachi and Georgia Demeure (associates), hedging expertise was provided by Anne Drakeford (partner) and Leland Hui (associate), regulatory expertise was provided by Kirsty Souter (senior associate) and tax expertise was provided by Jemma Dick (director) and Sarah Johnson (associate).