Cleco Corp. has announced an agreement to be purchased by an investment consortium headed by infrastructure funds. The purchase price of approximately $4.7 billion represents a premium of 50% above utility Cleco Power LLC's book value. The parties have not indicated how the acquisition will be funded, but in previous transactions debt as well as equity has been used. Based on that track record, we are placing the ratings of both entities on CreditWatch with negative implications. Closing of the transaction could take up to one year due to regulatory reviews of the purchase and required state and federal approvals. On Oct. 21, 2014, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services placed the 'BBB+' issuer credit ratings on Pineville, La.-based Cleco Corp.
