M&A News

Gas Natural Inc.’s wholly owned subsidiary, Public Gas Company, signed a definitive agreement to sell all of its assets used in the operation of its Kentucky utility business to Kentucky Frontier Gas for $1.9 million in cash. The closing is subject to customary closing conditions, as well as regulatory approvals. Public Gas Company, a Kentucky corporation, annually distributes 147.4 million cubic feet within seven counties in eastern Kentucky.

Duke Energy Renewables acquired a 20-MW solar power project in Shawboro, N.C., from Ecoplexus Inc., lead developer of the project. The energy generated from the facility is enough to power about 4,000 homes and will be sold to Dominion NC Power through a 15-year agreement. Swinerton Renewable Energy will build the facility. The project is targeted for completion by year-end.

TerraForm Power signed a definitive agreement to acquire net ownership of 930-MW of wind power plants from Invenergy Wind (Invenergy). TerraForm Power intends to acquire net ownership of 460 MW of the wind power plants from Invenergy with the remaining 470 MW to be acquired by a new warehouse facility, for a combined $2.0 billion in aggregate consideration. Invenergy will retain a 9.9 percent stake in the U.S. assets and will provide certain operation and maintenance services for these power plants.

Wisconsin Energy completed the acquisition of Integrys Energy - forming the WEC Energy Group. The new company will provide electricity and natural gas to 4.4 million customers across four states through its customer facing brands - We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service, Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas, Michigan Gas Utilities, and Minnesota Energy Resources.

NRG Yield, through its subsidiary NRG Yield Operating, entered into an agreement with GE Energy Financial Services to acquire its 25 percent interest in the Desert Sunlight Solar Farm in Riverside, CA for $285 million, subject to customary working capital adjustments, plus the assumption of $287.4 million of non-recourse project level debt.

sPower acquired its first wind project, a 62.1-MW facility in Monticello, Utah. The project is scheduled to begin construction this summer and should start generating clean energy at the end of 2015. The project has a 20-year PPA with PacifiCorp, which does business as Rocky Mountain Power in Utah.

Pattern Energy Group (Pattern Energy) closed the previously announced acquisition of a one-third interest in the 270-MW K2 Wind Power Facility in Ontario from Pattern Energy Group LP (Pattern Development). Pattern Energy will hold a 33% equity interest in the facility, which is equally co-owned by Samsung Renewable Energy and Capital Power.

The Babcock & Wilcox board of directors approved the spin-off of the power generation business creating a new public company. The power generation business will be named Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, and operate as Babcock & Wilcox. It will be headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. The remaining company will change its name to BWX Technologies on the date of the spin-off and will be headquartered in Lynchburg, Va. 

SunEdison signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100 percent of Globeleq Mesoamerica Energy (GME), Central America's leading renewable energy company. SunEdison will acquire a 70 percent interest in GME from Actis, a market private equity investor focused on the energy sector, and a 30 percent interest from Mesoamerica Power Limited.

Pattern Energy closed the previously announced acquisition of two operational wind power facilities totaling 351 MW from Wind Capital Group and its affiliates for a final purchase price of $242 million plus assumed net debt of $102 million. The acquisition includes ownership interests in the 201-MW Post Rock Wind facility in Kansas, and the 150-MW Lost Creek Wind facility in Missouri. The Post Rock Wind facility in Kansas has a long-term contract with Westar.