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

OSLO (Reuters) - CATS Management Limited (CML), a British gas infrastructure company owned by Antin Infrastructure Partners, has acquired 65 percent of Britain's Esmond Transportation System (ETS) 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 and Tyne gas fields.

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

Premier Oil sold its stake for 23.6 million pounds, it said in a statement on Monday.

(Reporting by Lefteris Karagiannopoulos, editing by Louise Heavens)