NiSource to sell minority stake in NIPSCO to private equity firm Blackstone for $2.15bn

NiSource has agreed to sell a 19.9% stake in its subsidiary Northern Indiana Public Service Co., for $2.15bn to an affiliate of private equity firm Blackstone Infrastructure Partners. Blackstone committed to providing another $250m for capital spending by the utility, NiSource said.

The planned transaction is “yet another example of a utility looking to raise capital by strategically selling part of its business as opposed to having a large public stock offering,” Paul Patterson, an equity analyst with Glenrock Associates, said. FirstEnergy and Duke Energy, for example, have entered into similar transactions.

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Tyson Slocum, energy program director for Public Citizen, a consumer watchdog group, said the deal is part of a risky trend, partly because it gives private equity firms seats on utility company boards.

Source:  Utility Dive

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