Goodbody retained for Bord Gáis Energy sale

NewERA, the agency advising the Government on the sale of State assets, has appointed A&L Goodbody as legal advisers for the proposed disposal of Bord Gáis Energy (BGE).

This follows the appointment of Barclays Capital as financial adviser to NewERA on the BGE process.

NewERA is an arm of the National Treasury Management Agency, which is responsible for managing the State’s debts.

One of its roles is to advise the Government on the disposal of various assets, something agreed with the EU and IMF as part of the State’s bailout programme.

Bord Gáis has already appointed its own set of advisers. RBC Capital Markets, a division of Royal Bank of Canada, has been hired as financial adviser, while McCann FitzGerald is acting as the legal advisor.

The sale of BGE is expected to yield between €1 billion and €1.5 billion.

UK-listed energy group Centrica is believed to be one of the interested parties in BGE.

It is understood that the company has appointed Goodbody Corporate Finance and law firm Arthur Cox to advise it on the BGE process.

Separately, the National Asset Management Agency has extended the deadline for tenders from legal advisers to form four new panels to provide it with services in the Republic.

The revised closing date is February 14th, with queries from interested parties relating to the process to be received by January 29th.

The date for the new panels to become effective remains as March 1st.

Nama currently operates four panels for legal services in the Republic, two each in enforcement and refinancing. Eighteen firms operate across these panels, with nine represented on each one.

Nama said the establishment of the new panels would not affect any contracts already being carried out on March 1st.