Melbourne 25 October 2016: Clayton Utz has acted for the financiers to the consortium comprising IFM Investors and AustralianSuper that has successfully bid for the partial lease of electricity and energy services distributor Ausgrid, a milestone transaction for the State of New South Wales.
Partner Dan Fitts led the Clayton Utz deal team, which included special counsel Trish Moloney and special counsel Maria Ratner.
The NSW Government announced on 20 October the Sale and Purchase Agreement with the successful consortium, which was accompanied by a fully underwritten and documented financing package. Under the Agreement, the consortium will acquire 50.4% of the long-term lease of Ausgrid, with the NSW Government retaining a 49.6 percent stake.
The NSW Government will apply the proceeds raised towards funding critical infrastructure projects as part of its $20 billion Rebuilding NSW plan.
Lead partner Dan Fitts said Clayton Utz was pleased to be part of one of the year's biggest financing deals. "This is a significant deal for NSW in providing critical funding to enable the NSW Government to advance its infrastructure agenda. It involved a collaborative effort between the purchasers' and financiers' teams to meet the Government's requirements and achieve this outcome and we congratulate all involved."
Clayton Utz' role on this transaction reinforces the firm's reputation for acting on large acquisition financings. The team recently advised the financiers to the Rail Consortium (consisting of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, GIP, CIC Capital, GIC, and British Columbia Investment Management Corp) that acquired the Asciano rail business as part of the $9.2 billion takeover of Asciano Limited in August.