Slaughter and May, Latham & Watkins and Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer have all taken lead roles on Centrica’s £1.5bn acquisition of one of the UK’s largest liquefied natural gas terminals from National Grid.
Centrica is acquiring the Isle of Grain terminal in Kent alongside Energy Capital Partners (ECP), which is part of Bridgepoint Group, via a 50/50 joint venture.
Slaughters is advising Centrica on the deal, with a team including corporate partners Robert Innes and Natalie Cook, energy and infrastructure partners Oliver Moir and tax partner Sarah Osprey, with partners Philippa O’Malley and Duncan Blaikie handling pensions and intellectual property respectively.
After taking into account approximately £1.1bn of project finance debt, Centrica’s 50% share of the total equity investment will be valued at approximately £200m.
Latham is advising ECP on the acquisition, with London corporate partners David Walker and Beatrice Lo leading alongside finance partners JP Sweny and Alexander Buckeridge-Hocking.
The US firm also advised on the project’s debt financing, which totals around £1.5bn, and ECP on its shareholder arrangements with Centrica.
HSFK is advising National Grid, with the firm’s team being led by corporate partners Charles Steward, Caroline Rae and Reza Dadbakhsh. The role comes after HSFK last year acted for National Grid on its £630m divestment of its electricity system operator to the UK Government
The Isle of Grain terminal is located off the Thames estuary and can process 15 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas each year, which equates to about a fifth of the UK’s demand for gas.
The deal is expected to close before the end of 2025, subject to regulatory approval.
The sale comes on the back of another major energy infrastructure development last month, with funding finalised for the Sizewell C nuclear plant. That £38bn deal has seen the UK Government take a 45% equity stake, with the remainder split between Centrica (15%), EDF (12.5%), Amber Infrastructure (7.6%) and Canadian investors La Caisse (20%).
Slaughters and HSFK also acted on that deal, advising Centrica and La Caisse respectively, with other firms including DLA Piper, Freshfields and Linklaters taking key roles.
