NSW electricity distributor Transgrid has been leased out by the government for 99 years to an Australian-led investment consortium for a deal worth $10.258 billion. The deal was announced by NSW Premier Mike Baird on Wednesday.

"This was an incredibly tight race with many consortiums all the way to the finish line," Baird told journalists on Wednesday morning. "There can only be one victor."

Baird said that a debt of $3 billion attached to the business would be paid off with the proceeds from the deal. That would leave the government with a profit of around $7 billion. "This result is a stunning result for the people of NSW," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted him as saying. "It means there is, for the people of NSW, better transport, roads, schools and hospitals."

The Hastings fund management-led consortium consists of a Canadian pension fund, Spark Infrastructure, an ASX listed company as well as Kuwait and Abu Dhabi based investment authorities. The transaction for the deal, which is the first of the three electricity asset privatisation move by the government, is expected to be completed by mid-2016.

“We have delivered on our election commitment to lease Transgrid and will now work hard to deliver the much-needed infrastructure to transform NSW,” the Australian Associated Press quoted NSW treasurer Gladys Berejiklian as saying.

There were initially concerns over Transgrid going into the hands of a Chinese government-owned investment entity, given its responsibility in supplying power to Canberra and in transferring sensitive government data through its fibre optic cable network. Baird said that all the four bidders have been approved by “all authorities and all agencies.”

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