04 September 2008
Melbourne, 4 September 2008: Clayton Utz has advised renewable energy business Hydro Tasmania on the acquisition of Momentum Energy Pty Ltd, a green power electricity retailer in Victoria.
The deal involves Hydro acquiring an initial stake in Momentum of 51 percent for $17.1 million, with the remaining 49 percent to be acquired in 2010.
Clayton Utz corporate partner Nick Miller led the team advising on the deal which included energy partner Faith Taylor, senior associate Sam Cottell and lawyers Adrian Quah and Ying Dai.
Mr Miller said the firm's deep experience in both the energy and resources and mergers and acquisitions sectors was invaluable for this "relatively complex" deal.
"We were able to integrate our regulatory expertise in the electricity sector with our merger and acquisition skills," Mr Miller said.
"The two-part acquisition approach necessitated a Shareholders Agreement for the two-year period between the initial acquisition and the final wrap up. This document, which included a very detailed business plan, was particularly important because of the inter-play between the businesses' performance and the price ultimately payable to the seller."
Mr Miller said the firm was pleased to have assisted Hydro Tasmania on such a strategically significant deal for the business.
"This is their first foray into the electricity retail sector and represents a re-integration following disaggregation a decade ago," he said.
