Ministers have been urged to intervene if Australian banking powerhouse Macquarie pushes the button on a mooted £3bn deal to take full control of a vital part of the UK’s gas grid.
A consortium comprised of Macquarie Asset Management and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation completed the acquisition of 60% of the equity in National Grid’s gas transmission and meter business in January, in a deal which valued the business at £7.5bn. The Guardian understands a clause in that deal allows the consortium first refusal to snap up the remaining 40% from this summer.If the consortium exercises the call option, it may prompt concerns over the future of a crucial piece of UK infrastructure as officials attempt to rebalance the nation’s energy system towards low-carbon technologies.
Macquarie owns a string of UK infrastructure assets including the gas network Cadent, Glasgow and Southampton airports, and several windfarm projects along the east and north-west coasts of England. However, it has a chequered reputation in the UK over its ownership of first Thames Water, where it faced