Energy News: Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway buys AltaLink for $3.2B from SNC-Lavalin

— Photo courtesy Conductor.ca

SNC-Lavalin Inc. announced this week it is selling AltaLink, LP, Alberta’s largest regulated electricity transmission company, to a subsidiary of the holding company run by Warren Buffett for gross proceeds of $3.2-billion.

The deal with Berkshire Hathaway Energy, owned by Bershire Hathaway Inc., is expected to close Dec. 31 and represents what the Montreal-based engineering giant says is “another significant step” in its strategic plan to unlock and create value from its portfolio of infrastructure concession investments.

AltaLink owns more than half of Alberta’s transmission grid, some 12,000 kilometres of transmission lines, as well as 280 substations, delivering electricity to about 85 per cent of the province’s population.

“After a robust process that drew considerable interest, we are very pleased to announce a transaction that recognizes significant value for AltaLink—a unique regulated asset in a high-growth electricity market—while also providing for a continued relationship with SNC-Lavalin,” president and CEO Robert Card said in a statement announcing the deal after markets closed.

“I would like to thank AltaLink’s employees, who have helped make their company so successful. I know they will have a bright future and benefit from enhanced career opportunities as part of Berkshire Hathaway Energy.”

Completion of the sale is subject to customary regulatory approvals, including approval by the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) and approvals pursuant to the Competition Act and Investment Canada Act, which requires that deals of this size involving foreign buyers are of net benefit to Canada.

Source: Canadian Manufacturer newsletter