Cleco To Be Bought Out By Investor Group For $55.37 Per Share

Cleco Corp. , a Louisiana-based public utility holding company, said it will be bought out by a group of North American investors for $55.37 per share in cash, an agreement that values the company at $3.47 billion, plus the assumption of $1.3 billion of assumed debt. Cleco, which announced the deal on Monday, said the price represents a 15% premium to Cleco's closing price of $48.27 on Oct. 17. The investor group is led by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) and British Columbia Investment Management Corp., with John Hancock Financial and other infrastructure investors. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2015.