BATON ROUGE (AP) — Louisiana utility regulators have approved the sale of energy company Cleco Corp.
A 4-1 vote late Monday by the Public Service Commission allows the sale to a group of investors. The PSC had rejected the $4.9 billion sale of the Pineville-based utility in February.
The purchasing group is led by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, John Hancock Financial and other infrastructure investors.
Cleco shareholders had approved the sale but it needed PSC approval.
Media reports on Monday's meeting said PSC member Foster Campbell agreed to consider supporting the sale if a Cleco official agreed not to seek a rate increase. The official agreed. Investors also agreed to $136 million in rate credits for Cleco's 287,000 Louisiana customers.
Cleco also sells wholesale power in Mississippi.
