Baker & McKenzie has advised US-based company Calpine on its £560m acquisition of Saltend power plant, Hull – a landmark instruction for the firm's London- based energy practice.
Corporate partner Mark Henrick and construction and projects partner Neil Donoghue led the Baker & McKenzie team. The pair worked closely with Michael Zimmer and Jonathan Gottlieb, partners in the firm's Washington DC office.
Henrick said: "We do a fair amount of energy work, but this deal is important for us. It is the largest power acquisition handled by our London office to date."
The deal is Calpine's first venture in the European market and the company's largest acquisition outside the US. The Saltend plant, bought from Entergy Corp, is one of the biggest natural gas fired power plants in England and sells electricity into the deregulated UK power market.
"The firm has a long-standing relationship with Calpine in the US and it was important for us to consolidate this by acting on its first UK investment," Henrick said.
Calpine, a leading operator of gas turbines in the US, has announced it is keen to make further acquisitions in the UK and Europe. Henrick added: "Of course we hope to get any such further work."
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, led by corporate partner Douglas Nordlinger, advised Entergy.