Cleco Corporate Holdings LLC Ratings Placed On CreditWatch Positive On Announced Sale Of Cleco Cajun LLC

On Nov. 29, 2023, Cleco Corporate Holdings LLC (Cleco) subsidiaries Cleco Cajun LLC (Cleco Cajun) and South Central Generating LLC announced that they are selling the Cajun business for $600 million to Big Pelican LLC and Pelican South Central LLC, affiliates of Atlas Capital Resources IV L.P. At closing, Cleco will receive $500 million and within 24 months after closing, Cleco will receive the remaining proceeds of approximately $100 million. The transaction is expected to close early 2024. S&P Global Ratings expects Cleco to use sale proceeds to redeem outstanding debt used to fund the Cleco Cajun acquisition. We expect Cleco will use additional proceeds in a credit-supportive manner to support the remaining businesses. Accordingly, we placed all our ratings

...December 5, 2023 - On Nov. 29, 2023, Cleco Corporate Holdings LLC (Cleco) subsidiaries Cleco Cajun LLC (Cleco Cajun) and South Central Generating LLC announced that they are selling the Cajun business for $600 million to Big Pelican LLC and Pelican South Central LLC, affiliates of Atlas Capital Resources IV L.P. At closing, Cleco will receive $500 million and within 24 months after closing, Cleco will receive the remaining proceeds of approximately $100 million. The transaction is expected to close early 2024. - S&P Global Ratings expects Cleco to use sale proceeds to redeem outstanding debt used to fund the Cleco Cajun acquisition. We expect Cleco will use additional proceeds in a credit-supportive manner to support the remaining businesses. - Accordingly, we placed all our ratings on Cleco and its regulated subsidiary, Cleco Power LLC (Cleco Power), on CreditWatch with positive implications. These include our '###-' issuer credit rating on Cleco, '###+' issuer credit rating on Cleco Power,...

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