Dive Brief:
- Lousiana utility Cleco is closing in on a deal to be acquired, according to sources who spoke with the Financial Times.
- Cleco has whittled down the list of prospective buyers to Spanish utility holding company Iberdrola and Australian investment bank Macquarie Group.
- Cleco could close on a deal within weeks, sources said, and is "likely" to be sold for more than its $3.4 billion market value, the Times reported.
Dive Insight:
Neither Iberdrola nor Macquarie were described as leading the bidding for Cleco, which has not necessarily decided to sell and will continue to weigh its options, sources told the Times.
Borealis Infrastructure, a Canadian infrastructure investment fund, and CenterPoint Energy, an electric and natural gas utility largely serving the Southern U.S., have previously been mooted as prospective buyers. They are no longer in the running to buy Cleco, according to the Times.
Cleco serves 284,000 electric customers through its retail operations in Louisiana; the utility also provides wholesale electricity in Louisiana and Mississippi.