Macquarie-Led Group Acquiring Utility Cleco for $3.4 Billion

Investors led by Australia’s Macquarie Group Ltd. agreed to buy Louisiana utility Cleco Corp. for $3.4 billion in cash, attracted by the steady, long-term returns of regulated power assets.

Macquarie, the largest private operator of U.S. utility assets, and Canadian fund manager British Columbia Investment Management Corp. will hold “the substantial majority” of Cleco when the deal is complete, according to an investor presentation posted online today. John Hancock Financial and other investors also joined in the deal, which includes the assumption of $1.3 billion in debt, the Pineville, Louisiana-based utility said in a statement today.