Four years after assuming nearly full ownership of its United Kingdom–based Central Area Transmission System (CATS), Antin Infrastructure Partners has decided to sell.
According to Reuters, the private equity firm has hired the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch and Citi, to initiate the sale of the 250-mile pipeline, which transports natural gas from the Central North Sea fields to Teesside in northern England.
The sale, which could close within the year, is expected to fetch around $1.5 billion.
In 2015, Antin increased its stake in CATS with the purchase of BP’s 36.22 percent share, bringing its ownership of the system to 99 percent. The previous year, Antin had purchased the lion’s share of 62.78 percent from BP.
As of 2015, CATS served 34 producing fields and accounted for the movement of 13 percent of gas production in the United Kingdom.
Antin recently increased its exposure to the United States market with the acquisition of Veolia Environnement’s U.S. district energy business, the largest in the country, for $1.25 billion.
