ENW sale completes as Kansai Electric-led consortium picks up remaining 50% stakeENW sale completes as Kansai Electric-led consortium picks up remaining 50% stake

The sale of distribution network operator Electricity North West (ENW) has completed after a trio of investors picked up the remaining 50% stake in the company.

In a statement released yesterday afternoon (4 December 2019), ENW confirmed that a consortium led by Japanese utility Kansai Electric Power, infrastructure investor Equitix and Hong Kong-based investor CNIC had taken full control of the firm after it acquired the outstanding 50% of shares in it.

The deal follows news in July that the consortium had acquired an initial 50% stake in ENW from a range of institutional investors.

Outstanding investors in ENW have now entered into an agreement for the sale of the remaining 50% stake, paving the way for a change in ownership.

However the company insisted it would remain committed to serving its five million customers in the north west of the country, starting with the creation of a plan for the forthcoming RIIO-2 price controls.

Hiroshi Nakajima, managing executive officer for international business at Kansai Electric Power, said the utility wanted to make a “deeper contribution” to ENW, intending to develop a “long-term and strategic collaboration” to address issues currently facing distribution networks.

Kansai Electric’s participation in the deal is further supported by Tokyo-headquartered investor Daiwa Energy & Infrastructure and Mitsubishi UFJ Lease, an equity investment and financial services division of global tech giant Mitsubishi.

Mitsubishi’s involvement comes amidst a flurry of investments from the company in European power generation, distribution and supply, which has included investments in the likes of OVO and Eneco in recent months.