A trio of law firms have been called in for the £1.5bn sale of National Grid’s Grain LNG terminal to British Gas owner Centrica and US-based infrastructure investor Energy Capital Partners (EPC).
Latham & Watkins is acting for the purchaser, an entity jointly-owned by ECP and Centrica, while Slaughter and May is advising Centrica on the deal and National Grid is being counselled by HSF Kramer.
The LNG terminal is located on the Isle of Grain in Kent, in southeast England, and is the largest LNG import and regasification terminal in Europe. Supplies of LNG came under pressure following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and subsequent Western sanctions on Russia, with the resulting price hikes still weighing on British consumers.
Centrica CEO, Chris O’Shea, said in a statement the terminal “is a strategic asset that will support the UK’s energy security for many decades to come, keeping energy flowing reliably and affordably to households and businesses across the country as we transition to net zero”.
For its part ECP, which is part of Bridgepoint Group, is one of the biggest private owners of natural gas generation and infrastructure assets in the US, which has become a major export hub for LNG.
Latham is also advising the purchaser on its debt financing, and ECP on its shareholder arrangements with Centrica. The team is led by London corporate partners David Walker and Beatrice Lo and finance partners JP Sweny and Alexander Buckeridge-Hocking.
Meanwhile the Slaughters team acting for Centrica is being led by corporate partners Robert Innes and Natalie Cook. Partners Oliver Moir (energy and infrastructure), Alex Bulfin (competition), Sarah Osprey (tax), Duncan Blaikie (technology and IP), Samantha Brady (environment) and Philippa O’Malley (pensions and employment) are also working on the deal.
Partners from the team including Innes, Moir and Osprey are also among a Slaughters team guiding Centrica on its acquisition of a 15% equity stake in the planned nuclear power station Sizewell C in Suffolk, with committed construction funding of £1.3bn.
Centrica said its 50% share of the total equity investment in the Grain LNG terminal is expected to be around £200m, after taking into account £1.1bn of project finance debt.
Centrica already owns the Rough gas storage facility, which is the largest in Britain. The company said its purchase of the Isle of Grain terminal aligned with its strategy to invest in regulated assets supporting the energy transition and offered future development opportunities, including a combined heat and power plant.
The HSF Kramer team guiding National Grid is led by corporate partners Caroline Rae, Charles Steward and Reza Dadbakhsh. TMT, data and sourcing partner David Coulling and competition partner Veronica Roberts are also acting on the deal.
The LNG terminal sale comes as National Grid moves away from owning energy production sites, instead focusing on building and maintaining the pipes and wires that carry electricity and gas, according to a BBC report.
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, subject to regulatory and national security approvals.
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