Snam & Fluxys Take €117 Million Interconnector UK Stake
Italian and Belgian gas transmission operators Snam and Fluxys have announced the completion of a transaction through which the the pair will split E.ON's 15.09 per cent stake in British pipeline Interconnector UK.
Snam and Fluxys will take a 50 per cent stake each of E.ON's share in Interconnector increasing the companies' combined overall stake in the pipeline to 31.5 per cent. The deal for Interconnector, which connects the gas system of the UK to Europe, is closed at a cost of €117 million.
Besides increasing the companies' joint stake in the interconnecting pipeline, the acquisition will complement Fluxys' separate stake of 15 per cent in the asset. This 15 per cent stake is in addition to a 33.5 per cent stake also held in the asset by Fluxys shareholder Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
The acquisition furthers cooperation between Fluxys and Snam. Earlier this year, the pair acquired Italian gas company Eni's stake in several projects, including Interconnector UK, for €150 million.
The deal will see the companies work to open up the European gas markets, Snam and Fluxys said in a statement.
"The acquisition of E.ON’s stake in Interconnector (UK) is another, concrete step towards a more integrated European gas market, with Snam playing a key-role in developing a gas hub for Southern Europe and enhance security of supply and liquidity of the gas market," CEO of Snam Carlo Malacarne said yesterday.
Managing Director of Fluxys, Walter Peeraer added: "Forging strong partnerships is the cornerstone of our international approach to develop a tentacular asset and capacity portfolio providing for easy cross-border gas flows and trades between the markets and trading places in the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany and Italy.
"We are looking forward to sharing our cross-European know-how with Interconnector (UK) and further unlock its potential as a strategic bi-directional link between the UK and the gas trading places in mainland Europe."