French power group EDF has agreed to sell its UK power networks business for £5.8bn ($9.1bn) to a consortium headed by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing.
However, EDF is not selling its power generation and supply interests, which means that business and retail customers can continue to buy their electricity from EDF, notes the BBC.
The infrastructure to be sold includes EDF's low-voltage electricity distribution networks in the east and south of England, and long-term contracts with businesses such as the London Underground, the Channel tunnel, and Heathrow and Gatwick airports.
The Li Ka-Shing - led consortium, including his holding company Cheung Kong Infrastructure (CKI), Hongkong Electric and the Li Ka-ShingFoundation, beat a group comprising Macquarie of Australia, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and Canada Pension Plan, to clinch the deal.
The sale price is 45 per cent more than that originally suggested, thus helping the French state-controlled company reach its €5bn ($6.5bn) target set for disposals by the end of 2011, reports FT.com.
