Slaughter and May advised Green Investment Bank on the sale of the Bank to the Macquarie Group

Slaughter and May is advising UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB) as part of its sale by the Government to the Macquarie Group (Macquarie) which has been agreed. The transaction has a value of approximately £2.3bn, which covers the amounts already invested by GIB in green infrastructure projects (such funding received from the Government) as well as commitments by GIB in respect of future funding to such projects. The sale also includes the acquisition of a stake in a portfolio of GIB’s offshore wind assets by two other institutional investors, Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 5 (MEIF5) and the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), with GIB retaining a 25% interest in, and continuing to manage, these assets.

As part of the deal, Macquarie will continue to uphold GIB’s green purposes and this will be protected by a ‘special share’ in GIB that will be issued to an independent group of trustees, who will have the power to prevent any changes to these green purposes.

Slaughter and May is also advising on the state aid aspects of the transaction.

Completion of the transaction is expected to take around two months.