Ares Management to sell stake in Meade Pipeline for $286m

A fund managed by Ares Management’s Infrastructure and Power strategy has signed a definitive agreement to sell its 22.5% stake in Meade Pipeline for $286m.

The interest in Meade Pipeline will be sold to a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Partners.

Meade owns around 39% of the 185-mile pipeline Central Penn Line that runs between Susquehanna and Lancaster counties in Pennsylvania.

The FERC-regulated pipeline is the greenfield part of the Atlantic Sunrise project operated by Williams through Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company (Transco).

The pipeline came online October 2018 and is capable of delivering up to 1.7bcf/d of natural gas from the northeastern Marcellus-producing area to mid-Atlantic and Southeastern region markets of the US through interconnection with the larger Transco pipeline system.

The transaction also includes a future expansion opportunity, which is expected to add an estimated 0.6bcf/d of natural gas capacity to the pipeline through the addition of new compression at new and existing stations.

Ares Infrastructure and Power co-head and Ares partner Keith Derman said: “Our Meade Pipeline investment demonstrates Ares’ investment strategy to partner in the development of critical infrastructure assets, bring them online and ultimately create value for our fund investors.”

The transaction is subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals and is slated for completion in the last quarter of this year.

Earlier this month, Ares Management and Fidante Partners established a strategic joint venture (JV) in Australia to jointly coordinate the marketing and investment management of retail and institutional investor capital from Australia and New Zealand.