Slaughter and May is advising United Utilities - IP and IT aspects of its formation of a new joint venture with Severn Trent

Slaughter and May is advising United Utilities on the IP and IT aspects of its formation of a new joint venture with Severn Trent.

The parties have each agreed to contribute to the joint venture their respective non-household water and wastewater retail businesses in preparation for the opening of the non-household retail market in England on 1 April 2017. Following the implementation of the reforms introduced by the Water Act 2014, all non-household customers in England will be able to choose their provider of retail water and sewerage services. The transaction is subject to clearance from the Competition and Markets Authority, and is expected to complete in Spring 2016. In particular, Slaughter and May advised on the structuring of complicated licensing arrangements (both within the joint venture and with a third party) of important IP assets which formed a key part of the deal.

Slaughter and May is supporting United Utilities’ internal legal team including General Counsel and Company Secretary Simon Gardiner and Head of Legal David Hannon.

Slaughter and May is also advising on the Corporate aspects of the sale. https://www.slaughterandmay.com/news-and-recent-work/recent-work/2016/united-utilities-joint-venture-with-severn-trent/