Macquarie Consortium Eyes Bond Market For Gas Grid Buy- Source

The Macquarie-led consortium in the process of buying German utility E.On AG's (EOAN.XE) Open Grid Europe will likely refinance a substantial amount of the debt backing the EUR3.2 billion deal in the bond market, said one person familiar with the situation Tuesday.

The financing is likely to be around 70% of the purchase price for the natural gas transmission network and amount to about EUR2.25 billion, two people familiar with the matter said. The debt is primarily divided between five-year loans and shorter-dated financing, one of these people said. The shorter dated debt, about EUR1 billion, will likely be refinanced in the bond market over the next 12 months, this person added.

The debt is being provided by a group of 10 banks including BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Commerzbank, Export Development Bank of Canada, ING, Royal Bank of Canada, Societe Generale, Scotiabank and Unicredit, this person said.

As previously reported by Dow Jones, the deal has yet to be signed but is agreed in principle and could be announced Wednesday when E.ON's supervisory board is scheduled to approve the deal.

The Open Grid Europe network of pipelines stretches over around 12,000 kilometers across much of Germany, with a geographic focus on the former West Germany. Its compressor station Waidhaus on the German-Czech border is one of Europe's largest entry-hubs for Russian gas, which accounts for around a quarter of Europe's gas supply.

The acquisition of Germany's largest gas-transmission grid--which commanded strong interest because its mid-Europe location means it is key to shipping large volumes of Russian gas from the continent's east to west--would be the second gas-network purchase by the Australian bank in just over a year, following its purchase of a smaller grid from RWE AG (RWE.XE) for around EUR500 million.

The Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG.AU) consortium also includes Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Munich Re.

By Carol Dean and Eyk Henning, Dow Jones Newswires; 44 20 7842 9306 [e-mail]