Magic circle duo head up £1bn Northern Irish energy M&A deal
Magic circle firms Slaughter and May and Linklaters have acted on a £1bn energy M&A deal in Northern Ireland. The transaction, which was announced on 7 July, saw Government-owned electricity utility company ESB buy Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE), the Northern Irish electricity transmission and distribution business of the Viridian Group, as well as its associated electrical contracting businesses.
July 21, 2010 at 07:22 AM
2 minute read
Slaughters and Links act for respective parties alongside local firms
Magic circle firms Slaughter and May and Linklaters have acted on a £1bn energy M&A deal in Northern Ireland.
The transaction, which was announced on 7 July, saw Government-owned electricity utility company ESB buy Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE), the Northern Irish electricity transmission and distribution business of the Viridian Group, as well as its associated electrical contracting businesses.
Under the terms of the agreement, ESB will pay £1.034bn for the NIE Group, with the deal expected to close by the end of the year.
Slaughters advised ESB with a large team led by City corporate partner Mark Zerdin.
Meanwhile, Linklaters took the lead advisory role for NIE on the transaction, with a City-based team led by corporate partner Richard Good and managing associate David Martin.
Tughans and William Fry also took roles, advising on Northern Irish and Irish law respectively. Bryan Bourke was lead partner for William Fry and John-George Willis for Tughans.
Good said: "The deal was interesting because it brought the group back with a Northern Irish operator and because of its significant size.
"Activity in the M&A market as a whole is currently patchy but we have seen a good flow of deals in the energy sector, especially in new energy."
The news follows Linklaters advising on a smaller energy-related deal in Northern Ireland this month, which saw the AES Corporation buy Premier Power Limited from British Gas for £99m. The deal also handed a role to Clifford Chance (CC), which acted for AES, with Linklaters acting for the seller British Gas.
The Linklaters team was led by City partner Owen Clay and managing associate David Avery-Gee. CC City energy sector specialist partner Russell Wells led for AES, while Irish law firm Arthur Cox advised the buyer on local law.
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