CMS advises consortium on acquisition of Seagreen 1 offshore transmission assets

CMS has advised a consortium comprising global infrastructure investor Equitix, and energy companies Kyuden International Corporation and Kyushu Electric Power on the acquisition of the Seagreen Phase 1 offshore transmission assets from Seagreen Wind Energy Limited.

The Seagreen Phase 1 offshore wind farm is Scotland’s largest and the world’s deepest fixed bottom offshore windfarm, located approximately 27km from the Angus coast in Scotland. The acquisition covers a range of transmission assets, including subsea export cables, onshore export cables, an offshore substation, as well as an onshore substation. As part of the transaction, Equitix and Kyuden Group will own, operate and maintain these assets for a 24-year period under the terms of a transmission license granted by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem).

Chris McGarvey, Energy & Climate Change Partner at CMS, comments: “Equitix is a longstanding client and we are delighted to have advised them on another successful OFTO acquisition alongside Kyuden on its first electricity transmission investment in the UK. Adding to Equitix’s growing platform, this transaction bolsters their pivotal contribution to advancing the UK’s renewable energy production and the country’s pathway to net-zero. The past twelve months have been a busy time for the CMS team advising on some of the most transformative deals in the sector and it is particularly pleasing to add Seagreen OFTO to that list.”

 The CMS team was led by Chris McGarvey and included Nicholas Carroll (Energy & Climate Change); Hugo Coetzee and Oliver Brown (Finance); Claire Wallis and Jamie Simpson; (Real Estate); Kathryn Nolin (Planning); and Bill Carr (Corporate).