National Grid (LON:NG.) announced plans to off-load a £6bn majority stake in its UK gas distribution business as it unveiled higher half-year profits.
The company said it was starting a process to sell the stake in the gas business in the second half of the year.
It said the disposal would help it to rebalance its business towards a higher asset growth profile.
The group currently expects to grow its total regulated and other assets at around 5% a year in the next few years, but said the sale could boost that towards 7%.
It hopes to return all the net proceeds to shareholders, while continuing to fund its investment programme and increase dividends per share by at least retail price inflation for the foreseeable future. The process is likely to be completed in early 2017.
Chief executive Steve Holliday said: "The UK gas distribution business has been an important part of National Grid and the sale of a majority stake will realise some of the value we have created for our shareholders."
The group reported a 14% rise in adjusted operating profit to £1.8bn in the six months to September 30 and a 21% gain in pre-tax profit to £1.4bn.
Earnings per share rose 22% to 28.4p per share and the company increased its interim dividend by 0.29p to 15p.
National Grid said unregulated activities such as property and its UK interconnector link with mainland Europe drove the rise in earnings per share.
Analyst Angelos Anastasiou at broker Whitman Howard said the adjusted PBT figure was well ahead of its own expectations and those of the market.
He said the majority stake could be worth £6bn or 160p per share in terms of the company's regulated asset base (RAB) and slightly less than half that after taking account of associated net debt.
Anastasiou said: "Overall, these are good figures, although the FY15/16 (expected) numbers are unlikely to show the same growth, and the gas distribution UK disposal looks like it could be favourable.
"Given all this, we are putting our 'sell' recommendation under review."
Shares rose 15.5p to 911.5p in mid-morning trading in London.