Just now, the new british action of the Li Ka-shing family has been exposed, and this time it is a potential sale transaction.
British investors (4 March 2022) learned that a number of international consortiums are in talks with the Li Ka Shing family to acquire their British power company UK Power Networks.
The company's latest valuation is £15 billion, or about 126.4 billion yuan.
Although the price is high, according to Bloomberg, several international consortia have begun bidding for the asset, including:
- A consortium led by Australian investment bank Macquarie Group and US private equity giant KKR
- Dutch pension agency APG
- China National Sovereign Fund - China Investment Corporation (CIC)
- Ontario Teachers' Pension Scheme Commission
- PSP Investments, a Canadian pension investment management company
It can be seen that because this asset is of very high quality and can generate stable cash flow, China's national sovereign fund has also participated in the bidding.
In addition, the Li Ka-shing family's newly listed British power company has attracted the interest of a number of infrastructure investors and energy companies.
The deal could be struck in the coming weeks and, once closed, would be one of the biggest deals in the industry this year.
In October 2010, the Li Ka Shing family, through Electric Energy Industries, Cheung Kong Infrastructure, the Li Ka Shing Foundation and the Li Ka Shing (Overseas) Foundation, acquired the interest in UK regulated and non-regulated grid assets held by EDF Energy, then held by EDF Energy, and established a new company, UK Power Networks, to hold and manage the acquired UK grid assets.
In other words, Li Ka-shing bought the British power company for only 5.8 billion pounds that year, but now sells it for at least 15 billion pounds, which is equivalent to holding it for 12 years, doubling its value and making nearly 10 billion pounds.
Moreover, we have seen that there have been multiple consortiums bidding, and the final price is only high.
UK Power Networks: Probably the most stable energy infrastructure asset in the UK
UK Power Networks is one of the UK's six largest power companies and the UK's largest distribution company, with a distribution network that directly powers homes and businesses.
UK Power Networks owns 3 of the UK's 14 regulated power grids with a total length of around 190,000 kilometres of cables, covering around 29,000 square kilometres, supplying electricity to more than a quarter of the UK's population, with distribution services covering London, the South East and East of the UK and 8.3 million subscribers.
In addition, UK Power Networks is engaged in the non-regulated business of providing power distribution services to private facilities in the form of commercial contracts in the local area, including four airports in London, the London Underground and the Straits Tunnel Link Railway.
At present, UK Power Networks is still jointly owned by the Li Ka Shing family's Changhe group, Cheung Kong Infrastructure Group and Electric Energy Industry.
After the Lee family sought to exit, a number of sovereign wealth funds and pension funds have taken a high interest in this energy infrastructure asset, after all, these investors prefer assets with long-term stable returns.
The Li Ka-shing family's map of Britain's energy infrastructure
Notably, even after the sale of UK Power Networks, the Li Ka-shing family still holds a large amount of energy infrastructure assets in the UK.
Public information shows that the Li Ka-shing family in Hong Kong has mastered the important livelihood infrastructure resources in the United Kingdom through the early large-scale acquisition.
According to incomplete statistics, the Li Ka Shing family currently controls about 1/4 of the electricity distribution market in the Uk, nearly 30% of the natural gas supply market, nearly 7% of the water supply market, more than 40% of the telecommunications market, nearly one-third of the UK terminals, and more than 500,000 square meters of land resources.
According to the data, Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong Industrial Group is the largest single overseas investor in British history, with a cumulative investment of more than 255.5 billion yuan.
In terms of asset classes, the Li Ka-shing family's investments in the UK are mainly concentrated in infrastructure, telecommunications, retail, power grids, water, pipeline gas, real estate and other fields, involving all aspects of British people's lives.
These industries, which are closely related to the food, clothing, housing and transportation of the British people, are undoubtedly very stable.
The following is a list of British companies under the Hong Kong Cheung Sil Group
When Li Ka-shing made a purchase before, Changshi Group said:
"Due to its scarcity, the UK's energy infrastructure assets are not only stable in performance and guaranteed returns, but also extremely low in risk, and some industries even have state endorsements, which can continuously generate safe and lasting stable income, which is in the interests of the Lee family."
The Lee Empire's British infrastructure holdings
British investors write at the end
Today, I briefly share with you the latest moves of the Li Ka-shing family in the UK.
It can be seen that for the british power company UK Power Networks transaction, the Lee family bought and sold, making a net profit of nearly 10 billion pounds in 12 years, and the level of investment can be seen.
It is also worth noting that in the context of rising global energy prices, British power company assets, as high-quality scarce assets that can generate stable cash flow, have also attracted Chinese national sovereign funds to participate in bidding.