CMS advises SSE on £326.4m street lighting disposal to Equitix

CMS has advised SSE plc (“SSE”) on the completion of a sale to Equitix Infrastructure 3 Limited (“Equitix”), of its 100% equity interest in the special purpose entities (SPEs) established in England under the Private Finance Initiative, for the delivery of seven street lighting projects.

The SPEs are funded through a mix of senior debt and equity, and the removal of this project-related senior debt, along with the cash consideration of £97.5m, will have the immediate effect of reducing SSE’s net debt by £326.4m.

The CMS team included London partners Doug Land, William Simmons and Hugo Coetzee and a further core team including Sam Rylance, Nick Blair, Ed Fuller, Nicola Curry, Toby Commander, Chloe Player, Qasam Mahmood and Joseph Askham.

Commenting on the transaction, Doug Land said: “We have a longstanding and highly valued relationship with SSE and we were delighted to work closely with the in-house legal team of Liz Tanner, Zoe Pillinger and Brian Sharma to deliver this strategic transaction for SSE.”