Blackstone Credit & Insurance to Provide Financing For Bernhard Capital Partners’ Acquisition of CenterPoint Energy’s Louisiana and Mississippi Natural Gas Distribution Operations
NEW YORK – Blackstone Credit & Insurance (“Blackstone”), Jefferies, Scotiabank, and Bernhard Capital Partners (“Bernhard”), today jointly announced that Blackstone has provided debt financing commitments for Delta Utilities, a portfolio company of Bernhard Capital Partners, to acquire CenterPoint Energy, Inc.’s (“CenterPoint”) regulated natural gas distribution operations in both Louisiana and Mississippi. Jefferies LLC and Scotiabank acted as joint lead arrangers and provided the initial bridge financing in addition to their financial advisory roles in the transaction.
“We are pleased to provide this long duration investment grade financing solution to support Bernhard Capital Partners and benefit our investors,” said Robert Horn, Global Head of Infrastructure & Asset Based Credit at Blackstone. “The Bernhard team has deep expertise in long-lived, critical infrastructure and will provide strong ownership and operation of these assets, serving customers across Louisiana and Mississippi.”
“Financing of this transaction by Blackstone and a select group of lenders will help us better serve customers across the Gulf South and further our commitment to building more resilient communities through investment in vital infrastructure assets,” said Jeff Jenkins, Founder and Partner at Bernhard Capital Partners. “Value add, opportunistic investments in regulated utilities are the focus of our Infrastructure Fund whereby we manage capital plan execution, increase service reliability and invest in our communities.”
Based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Bernhard Capital focuses on investing in companies that provide critical services to government, infrastructure, industrial, utility and energy sectors, as well as investing in utility assets. To date, Bernhard Capital has invested in over 65 services-focused companies, including several utility companies, across 19 platforms that collectively employ more than 19,000 people globally.
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