Cleco equity sale draws interest from Meta

Louisiana power company Cleco Corporate Holdings is working with Goldman Sachs and Moelis to find an equity investor, IJGlobal can reveal.

The auction launched in June when the business alerted Louisiana Public Service Commission that it would be seeking a new owner. It took nonbinding offers in September, said a source familiar with the matter.

The sale remains ongoing.

The process has drawn interest from Meta as it develops the $10 billion Franklin Farm Data Center in Richland Parish, Louisiana, adjacent to which Entergy Louisiana plans to develop 2,260MW of combined-cycle combustion power and connecting transmission.

Cleco launched a process to sell 3.4 GW of unregulated natural gas and coal-fired generation in MISO South in 2022, with Jefferies advising. That sale closed for $600 million to private equity firm Atlas Holdings in 2024.

Macquarie Infrastructure Partners III acquired Cleco in 2016 for $4.7 billion, inclusive of debt, company executives announced at the time.

MIP III has reached the end of its 10-year tenor. Its remaining assets are Cleco, Goethals Bridge and Maher Container Terminals.

Cleco did not respond to a request for comment. Goldman Sachs, Moelis and Macquarie declined to comment.

Cleco conducts its business operations through its regulated utility, Cleco Power. The utility owns 8 generating units at 5 facilities with a capacity of 2,676MW and operates 946MW on behalf of generation partners.

Assets also include approximately 1,387 miles of transmission lines and approximately 12,319 miles of distribution lines. The company supplies wholesale power in Louisiana and Mississippi.