National Grid to sell US renewables business to Brookfield
National Grid has agreed to sell its US renewables business to Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management in a deal worth £1.4bn.
The UK’s energy operator said the transaction would be an “important step” in long-running plans to slim down the business.
National Grid sold both its Electricty System Operator (ESO) and its holdings in National Gas last year, and announced a major £7bn equity raise.
Monday’s deal remains subject to regulatory approval but will likely be completed in the first half of the financial year ending March 2026 if there are no hitches.
It comes amid uncertainty in the United States over how tax incentives in Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act will be implemented under President Donald Trump.
However, AJ Bell’s Investment Director Russ Mould cautioned that it was “not a rushed response” to Trump’s green energy scepticism and had been in the works “for some time.”
“The fact the company has got the deal across the line in the new political environment might be met with some relief. The price tag looks reasonable for a set of assets which made a modest contribution to the group.
He added: “Attention may now turn to the company’s stated plan to sell its Grain LNG terminal in Kent – a proposal which attracted some controversy when it was announced over the potential impact to energy security.”
National Grid Renewables owns and operates around 1.8GW of solar, onshore wind and battery storage assets in the US.
It also runs part of New York and Massachusetts power and natural gas network, esrving around 20m people.
Shares in the wider group rose 1.47 per cent in early trading on Monday.