Commentators described Li Ka-Shing's acquisition as the biggest full European acquisition by a North Asian group.

The tycoon's investment vehicles Cheung Kong Infrastructure (CKI) and Hongkong Electric said they would buy three British electricity distribution networks and a private power networks business from EDF, the world's second-largest utility.

The sale to the octogenarian, ranked by Forbes as the world's 14th richest man, in one leap comfortably beats EDF's £4.2bn target for asset sales to cut debt. Martin Young, an analyst at Nomura, said French firm EDF had achieved "a very good price indeed, in this day and age."

The purchase caps a process that has dragged on for more than a year, delayed by a change in EDF management, regulatory rulings, and difficulties with pension trustees.

The deal will double CKI's presence in the United Kingdom, helping to overcome its limited room for domestic growth.