CML buys 65 pct of UK's ETS pipeline, to keep Perenco as operator

OSLO, Dec (Shanghai: 600875.SS - news) 12 (Reuters) - CATS Management Limited (CML), a British gas infrastructure company owned by Antin Infrastructure Partners (IOB: 0QOQ.IL - news) , has acquired 65 percent of Britain's Esmond Transportation System (ETS (Shenzhen: 002545.SZ - news) ) pipeline and will keep Perenco as its operator, the firm said on Tuesday.

CATS did not give a value for the transaction.

ETS, a 165-kilometer pipeline that transports gas from fields in the southern North Sea to Britain's Bacton gas terminal, is operated by Perenco, which also runs the country's Trent (BSE: 500251.BO - news) and Tyne gas fields.

CML bought a 30-percent stake in the pipeline from Premier Oil, 25 percent from Centrica (Frankfurt: A0DK6K - news) and 10 percent from Perenco UK Limited, the company said in a statement.

Premier Oil (LSE: PMO.L - news) sold its stake for 23.6 million pounds ($31.6 million), it said in a statement on Monday.

(Reporting by Lefteris Karagiannopoulos, editing by Louise Heavens)