UK power and gas distributor National Grid has made an expansive foray into the US by buying KeySpan, a natural gas pipeline operator.
The KeySpan acquisition comes just a matter of weeks after the firm bought the Southern Union Company’s gas assets and marks National Grid’s fifth US purchase overall.
National Grid has been keen to build its footprint in the US’s northeast region, and the deal to buy New York-based KeySpan furthers this aim. National Grid also confirmed that it had the liquid assets available to fund further M&A moves should the right opportunity appear.
KeySpan is a natural extension of our business and our strategy. It fits strategically, operationally and geographically, National Grid’s outgoing chief executive Roger Urwin was quoted as saying by Reuters.
National Grid sold half of its UK gas pipeline assets last year for some GBP5.8 billion, of which GBP2 billion has been returned to shareholders.