Advising CNP Assurances alongside Caisse des Dépôts in connection with the signature of a binding agreement for the acquisition by Caisse des Dépôts and CNP Assurances of a 49.9% stake in Réseau de Transport d’Electricité (RTE).

On 14 December 2016, EDF, on the one hand, and Caisse des Dépôts and CNP Assurances, on the other hand, entered into a binding agreement setting the terms and conditions of the acquisition by Caisse des Dépôts and CNP Assurances of a 49.9% indirect stake in RTE1, as well as the modalities of a long-term partnership to foster the development of RTE.

This partnership between major public players in infrastructure financing in France will strengthen RTE’s public service remit.

The selected scheme provides for Caisse des Dépôts and CNP Assurances to become core shareholders of RTE alongside EDF, through the creation of a joint venture of EDF (50.1%) and Caisse des Dépôts and CNP Assurances (49.9%).

This agreement is in line with the request by the Minister of Finance and Public Accounts and the Minister of Economy, Industry and Digital, in their joint press release on 22 April 2016, for the chairmen of RTE and EDF to define a capital opening scheme that can be implemented before the end of 2016.

EDF will initially transfer, before the end of the year, all RTE equity shares to the new joint venture. The joint venture will partly finance this operation with external debt. EDF will then sell to Caisse des Dépôts and CNP Assurances 49.9% of the equity capital of this joint venture. Finalisation of that second step is expected in the first half of 2017, once approval from the relevant merger control authorities has been obtained.