Mallesons has advised consortium entities ultimately owned by Electricity Retained Interest Corporation – Ausgrid and / or funds managed by IFM Investors, APG and AustralianSuper, on the multibillion dollar sale of the contestable metering business of PLUS ES to funds managed by DigitalBridge.
PLUS ES is one of Australia’s largest accredited metering providers, managing approximately 2 million digital meters across the National Electricity Market. It provides metering infrastructure and data services to retailers, utilities and network operators.
DigitalBridge is a global alternative asset manager focused on digital infrastructure. The acquisition comes amid continued growth in Australia’s smart-metering market.
The Mallesons team was led by M&A Partner Adrian Perkins, supported by Partners Kirsten Bowe, Jonathan Grant and Josh Thorneycroft, Special Counsel Tom Harrison, Senior Associate Matthew Caldow and Solicitors Jake Miyairi, Matthew Tuxen, Claudia Finlayson and Jack O’Brien.
The core group was supported by a multidisciplinary team including Partners Lizzie Knight, Simon Cooke, Tim Ma, Andrew Gray, Chris Pitson and Greg Protektor, Special Counsel Joshua Mead, Senior Associates Paul Burton, Robyn Dimis, Aditya Shivam and Kathy Tin and Consultants Brett Feltham and Damiano Castelli.
Commenting on the transaction, Adrian Perkins said:
“PLUS ES sits at the intersection of digital infrastructure and the energy transition. This highly complex transaction involved a competitive sale process, the separation of PLUS ES from the broader Ausgrid Group and the separation of other business units from PLUS ES. It reflects the strong global investment interest by private capital in Australia’s digital infrastructure and energy markets.”
The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals, with PLUS ES continuing to operate as usual while the sale is finalised.
