National Grid Begins $1.1 Billion Share Buyback After Gas Sale

(Bloomberg) -- National Grid Plc will begin Friday a program to spend 835 million pounds ($1.1 billion) buying back its own shares, after the sale of a majority stake in its U.K. natural gas distribution business in December to focus on areas with higher growth.

The London-based energy-network manager hired Barclays Plc to make 425 million pounds of the purchases on the London Stock Exchange until Dec. 27 at its discretion, but according to preset parameters, according to a statement. There won’t be purchases of the company’s American Depositary Receipts.

National Grid is adapting its networks to account for higher levels of gas trading and to the rise of wind and solar generation. It’s installing rooftop solar in the U.S. and is considering an investment in electric vehicle charging infrastructure. It sold the gas stake for 3.6 billion pounds and retained a 39 percent stake in a new holding company.

The shares rose 0.2 percent to 1,053 pence at 8:09 a.m. in London. The stock has climbed 1.5 percent this year, underperforming an 11 percent gain in the Stoxx 600 Utilities index

To contact the reporter on this story: Mathew Carr in London at m.carr@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lars Paulsson at lpaulsson@bloomberg.net Andrew Reierson.