PINEVILLE, La. -- Cleco is undergoing an ownership change.
Stonepeak and Bernhard Capital Partners on Monday announced it's buying the power company from a consortium comprised of Macquarie Asset Management, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation and Manulife Investment Management, according to a news release.
Headquartered in Pineville, Cleco is a regulated electric utility with 1,200 employees serving approximately 298,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in 24 Louisiana parishes. Following the close of the transaction, Cleco will:
- Remain locally managed and operated with its headquarters in Pineville
- Maintain its operating footprint and continue serving customers across Louisiana
- Retain employees and maintain compensation and benefit levels
- Continue to be regulated by the Louisiana Public Service Commission
- Remain focused on sustaining state leading reliability levels
This transaction brings investors with more capital, industry expertise and a local presence to support Cleco, a utility with more than 90 years in operation, the news release states.
“Cleco provides safe, reliable and affordable electricity to our customers in support of their quality of life, and we take pride in the work of our dedicated, local employees who support the communities in which we all live,” said Bill Fontenot, president and CEO. “Cleco's employees are central to our success. In the last decade, we've become more safe, efficient and modern. With support from new partners Stonepeak and Bernhard, we can strengthen system reliability and encourage regional economic growth. This transaction marks an important day for our community, our customers and our company.”
Over the last decade, Cleco has modernized its operations and strengthened system capacity. Under the consortium’s ownership, Cleco invested approximately $3 billion to support its reliability. In November, the Louisiana Public Service Commission unanimously approved the largest grid resiliency investment in Cleco’s history, enabling further system hardening and expansion.
The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals. Upon close, Stonepeak will hold the majority interest in Cleco.