Engie shares surge on $14 billion UK power grid deal

PARIS, Feb ​26 (Reuters) - ‌Shares in French utility Engie surged on Thursday after it said it would buy major British grid company UK Power Networks for $14 billion, ⁠marking its largest ever deal and a return to acquisitions after ⁠several years of selling off non-core assets.

Previously a ​nuclear power generator, state-backed Engie has shifted strategy in recent years to focus on gas and renewables, becoming Europe's leading gas transmission operator and with a growing pipeline of solar power projects in the United States.

But it had so far missed out ​on the ‌rising revenues from power grids, which offer more predictable, regulated revenue streams amid volatile energy prices. In 2024, it was beaten to a deal for smaller British distributor Electricity North West by Spanish peer Iberdrola.

Engie Chief Executive Catherine MacGregor said experience helped the French company seal a much bigger, 10.5 billion pound ($14.18 billion) deal with Hong Kong's CK Infrastructure Holdings for UK ​Power Networks).

The deal price implies a multiple of 1.5 times UKPN's regulated asset value, in line with other transactions in ‌the sector, but lower than the multiple offered by KKR and Macquarie in 2022, according to a person familiar with the deal.

It would be Britain's largest energy acquisition ‌in a decade, according to Mergermarket.

Shares in Engie were up 7.4% at 29.6 euros at 1558 GMT, heading for their biggest single-day rise since March 2017 and at their highest since February 2009.

The deal would transform Engie, said analysts at ​Jefferies, diversifying its business and reducing its exposure to fluctuating natural gas prices.

UKPN supplies the southeast and east of England including London, with a regulated ‌asset base expected to grow around 5% annually through 2028, Jefferies said.

Britain will become Engie's second-largest market for earnings, said Engie, which counts the French state as its largest shareholder with a 24% stake.

"We chose the UK for this acquisition because ⁠of its ⁠clear commitment to decarbonisation, their net zero target to 2050 is legally binding," CEO ‌MacGregor told analysts, adding that learning from UKPN could help Engie grow in other regions.

Engie is looking at 4 billion euros ($4.72 billion) worth of disposals ​to finance the acquisition, MacGregor ​said. It also plans to raise up to 3 billion euros in new shares. ‌The French finance ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the share issue. ($1 = 0.7407 pounds) ($1 = 0.8480 euros) (Reporting by America Hernandez in Paris and Andres Gonzales Estebaran in London; Additional reporting by Forrest Crellin and Leigh Thomas in Paris; Writing by Dominique Patton; Editing by Andrei Khalip, Nina Chestney and Susan Fenton)

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