Top UK duo lead on French utility giant's sell-off

Simmons & Simmons and Hogan Lovells have taken the lead roles on utility giant Veolia's sale of three of its UK water businesses in a deal worth £1.24bn.

Rift Acquisitions, a fund managed by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and Infracapital at M&G Investments – Prudential's European fund management arm – is purchasing the water and waste company's central, east and southeast UK functions.

Hogan Lovells took the lead role for the buyer with a team led by infrastructure finance partner Andrew Briggs, advising on the acquisition's structure, regulatory and antitrust issues, debt funding and the negotiation of the transaction documents.

Meanwhile, Simmons advised France's Veolia on structuring, regulatory aspects and preparing the business for sale, with a team led by corporate partner Arthur Stewart alongside corporate partner Isabella Roberts and client relationship partner Charles Bankes.

Stewart said: "By running a competitive auction where documentation was negotiated upfront, we were able to cut the timetable by a month.

"This was an excellent example of the ideal way to run a competitive auction from a seller's perspective. It delivered a competitive process on an aggressive timetable to a very successful conclusion for seller and bidder alike."

Briggs added: "The sell side are to be congratulated on running an efficient and effective process. What made the difference was my clients quickly got to grips with the things that really mattered to the seller. In the context of a deal of this size and complexity, the closing process could not have been smoother."

The roles for Simmons and Hogan Lovells came after Veolia reappointed both firms to its main UK legal panel last August, alongside Pinsent Masons, Reynolds Porter Chamberlain and Brodies.