Slaughter and May, working alongside the British Gas in-house legal team, is advising British Gas, the largest UK energy and home services company, on the proposed acquisition of AlertMe, a UK-based company that creates products and services linked by the internet to enable connected homes.

The deal will create the UK’s leading connected homes provider, by bringing together British Gas’ ability to innovate for mass market consumers with AlertMe’s next generation Internet of Things technology and expertise. The acquisition will create a highly experienced and fully integrated team to accelerate the development of new connected home services in the UK and worldwide, including to British Gas’ 11 million customer homes in Britain.

The net cost of the acquisition to British Gas will be £44 million, taking into account an existing 21% holding in AlertMe. It is anticipated that the transaction will be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2015.

CONTACTS

Corporate: Richard Smith (partner); Heather Fleming (associate), Will Oates (associate); Tax: Gareth Miles (partner), Charles Osborne (associate); IP/IT: Susie Middlemiss (partner), Will Hedges (associate); Employment: Roland Doughty (partner), Michael Aherne (associate), Martin Boyle (associate); Real Estate: John Nevin (partner), Lee Foxcroft (associate)

British Gas in-house legal team: led by Rachel Callaghan