Ashurst advised a consortium comprising Borealis Infrastructure and First State Investments, together with Finnish institutional investors Keva and LocalTapiola Pension, on the €2.55 billion agreement to acquire 100% of the Finnish electricity distribution business, Fortum Distribution Finland (“FDF”), from the Fortum Group. FDF is the owner of the largest electricity distribution network in Finland, with over 600,000 customers across the country, representing more than 20% market share. Completion of the transaction is expected during the first quarter of 2014, subject to regulatory approval.
The Ashurst team was led by corporate partner Eavan Saunders Cole and banking partner Jane Fissenden, assisted by corporate senior associate Alex Verzariu and banking associate Laura Ho. Jan Sanders, a partner in the firm’s Energy, Resources and Infrastructure team, also advised, together with senior associate Garry Connolly. Competition partner Neil Cuninghame provided advice on antitrust matters, assisted by senior associate Alexi Dimitriou.
