SNC-Lavalin closes $3.1B sale of AltaLink to Berkshire Hathaway

CALGARY—Berkshire Hathaway Energy Co. (BHE) has completed the $3.1-billion acquisition of electricity transmission firm AltaLink L.P., the Calgary-based company announced.

The sale of AltaLink by SNC-Lavalin Inc. was completed after the deal received regulatory approval from the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) on Nov. 28.

The deal, first announced in May, received federal approval under the Competition Act and the Investment Canada Act, which requires deals of this size involving foreign buyers be of net benefit to Canada, earlier this year.

“Throughout our history, AltaLink’s commitment to building, owning and operating a safe, reliable and cost-effective transmission system has powered Alberta’s economy,” AltaLink president and CEO Scott Thon said in a statement announcing the deal’s completion. “Our dedication to Alberta is absolute. We remain locally managed to ensure that we continue to provide the service Albertans expect and deserve.”

Owned by Warren Buffet’s Bershire Hathaway Inc., BHE committed to reinvest 100 per cent of AltaLink’s earnings back into the company’s operations throughout Canada.

Its subsidiary, MidAmerican Transmission, also signed a mutual agreement with SNC-Lavalin to develop engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) opportunities in the United States and Canada.

“We are pleased that we will bring together SNC-Lavalin’s (EPC) management strengths and MidAmerican Transmission’s strong track record of joint transmission projects with other entities, to deliver long-term benefits to the communities they serve,” SNC-Lavalin’s president of power operation, Alexander Taylor, said in a statement issued by his company.

BHE has assets of approximately US$70 billion, and owns and operates some 284,000 kilometres of transmission and distribution lines.

MidAmerican Transmission owns transmission lines throughout the U.S. and Canada.

SNC-Lavalin first announced it was considering a sale of AltaLink in November 2013.