(Adds IFM declined to comment, updates share move) Feb 18...

(Adds IFM declined to comment, updates share move)

Feb 18 (Reuters) - Australian financial conglomerate Macquarie (MQG) is looking to buy a controlling stake in the gas transmission business of Britain's National Grid NG.L , Bloomberg News reported late on Thursday.

A deal could value the business at more than $10 billion, the report https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-17/macquarie-said-to-bid-for-stake-in-national-grid-s-gas-unit#:~:text=Macquarie%20Group%20Ltd.%20is%20weighing,people%20familiar%20with%20the%20matter said, citing people familiar with the matter.

National Grid has been planning a sale of the business in an effort to cut its carbon footprint and Macquarie's asset management unit has made an initial non-binding offer for the stake, according to Bloomberg.

The asset has also drawn interest from infrastructure specialist IFM Investors, Canada's Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP) and pension fund investor APG Asset Management, Bloomberg reported.

National Grid, Macquarie and IFM declined to comment, while PSP and APG did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

National Grid's gas transmission business includes a 7,000-kilometer pipe network across the UK and is among the largest gas transmission unit in the country. The news comes as Europe's tight gas market has left wholesale energy prices soaring.

Shares in London-listed National Grid were up as much as 1.5% at 1,095.4 pence.