Treasurer Joe Hockey has conditionally approved a foreign investment application from State Grid Corporation of China to acquire a 19.9 per cent stake of SP AusNet
(ASX:SPN).
Mr Hockey has also granted State Grid approval to purchase a 60 per cent holding in SPI Assets Pty Limited and SPI Trust, which trades as Jemana.
He says the application is approved on the condition that at least 50 per cent of the members to be appointed by State Grid to the boards of SP AusNet and Jemena are Australian citizens.
The deal will effectively give State Grid control over part of Melbourne’s electricity network and the New South Wales gas distribution grid, in addition to the main gas pipeline from the Bass Strait to Sydney.
State Grid is the world’s largest electric utility and ranked seventh in the Fortune Global 500.
SP AusNet generated a net profit of $97.7 million in the first half of fiscal 2014.
