Ausgrid has announced the sale of its energy services and smart-metering arm, Plus ES, with a price tag of $3bn. If sold, the transaction would rank among the largest Australia infrastructure related sales in recent years, as Ausgrid test the market for the country's largest smart meter operator.
Plus Es holds 36% of the Australian smart meter market, installing, maintaining and managing smart meters for homes and businesses to provide near real-time energy data, enabling lower bills, solar monitoring, and faster fault detection.
Investors are attracted to Plus Es’ predictable yet growing cash flows, with FY25 results realising $150m in earnings marking 25% in growth over the past 5 years. Outside of performance, opportunities remain intact, with Plus Es expecting to add another 1 million smart meters to its existing base of 1.6 million in the next 5 years.
For Ausgrid which is primarily owned by the NSW government (49.6% stake) alongside private investors it signals an exit at a point to recycle capital at a time where market confidence is increasingly high. Amidst years of suppressed activity, the infrastructure industry is expecting 2026 to mark a return of large-scale asset sales, Plus Es potentially being the first of the year.
