Australia's Macquarie to buy British motorway operator Roadchef

(Reuters) - Australia's Macquarie Group on Friday agreed to buy one of Britain's top motorway service area (MSA) operator Roadchef from Antin Infrastructure Partners, the latest in a series of deals by the financial conglomerate.

Motorway service areas provide amenities such as toilets, accommodation, food and beverage outlets as well as refuelling and recharging facilities to motorists.

Macquarie Asset Management said https://bit.ly/3sEBdpT it would support Roadchef in developing and accelerating the rollout of fast-charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs).

The deal comes at a time when there is strong demand for electric vehicles in Britain, with its auto industry calling for mandate https://reut.rs/35Mpo7Q targets for rolling out charging infrastructure.

The companies did not disclose the terms of the transaction, although a media report https://bit.ly/3vAYYRv had said the deal would be worth around 900 million pounds ($1.20 billion).

Macquarie did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for confirmation on the deal value.

Macquarie, Australia's largest asset manager, has been stepping up its focus on green investment in recent months.

In late 2021, Macquarie's green investment arm agreed to buy Germany's second-largest gas pipeline operator, Thyssengas, to use the company's grid network to transport climate-friendly gases.

It had also teamed up with France's Engie SA and U.S. energy storage firm Fluence Energy to build an energy storage project in Australia.

The deal announced on Friday is expected to be completed by the first quarter of fiscal 2022.

($1 = 0.7493 pounds)

(Reporting by Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)