CenterPoint to sell Louisiana, Mississippi natgas assets for $1.2 billion

(Reuters) – CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:) said on Tuesday it would sell its assets in Louisiana and Mississippi for $1.2 billion to Bernhard Capital Partners, as the electricity and gas utility plans to focus on its regulated business.

Several U.S. utilities have been disposing of their unregulated assets are the returns are dictated by market dynamics, while regulated operations offer steady returns that are preferred by investors.

Last year, Utility firms Duke Energy (NYSE:) and American Electric Power (NASDAQ:) announced sales of their unregulated assets.

In regulated states, a utility could be responsible for electricity generation, transmission and distribution, while in non-regulated states, generation is separate from distribution and transmission, and consumers can choose to buy their power from different providers.

“From an operational and strategic perspective, we remain confident in and committed to our regulated natural gas utilities in Texas, Indiana, Minnesota, and Ohio where we have significant footprints and rate bases,” said CEO Jason Wells in a statement.

CenterPoint said the assets being sold include 12,000 miles of main pipelines, which serve about 380,000 customers in Louisiana and Mississippi.

It said the deal is expected to close toward the end of the first quarter of 2025 and will not affect the company’s targeted adjusted profit growth rate of 8% in 2024, and the mid-to-high end of 6%-8% annually from 2025 through 2030.

Separately, CenterPoint reported dull fourth-quarter results. It said increased interest expense countered growth and rate recovery in the quarter.

It posted revenue of $2.18 billion, missing the average analyst estimate of $2.69 billion, according to LSEG data, while adjusted profit of 32 cents was in-line with expectations.