Stonepeak and Bernhard Capital Partners agreed on 27 April to acquire Cleco Group, a regulated electric utility in central Louisiana, from a consortium of Macquarie Asset Management, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation and Manulife Investment Management. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Why Stonepeak and Bernhard Capital Partners is buying Cleco Group LLC
The buyers said they would bring capital, industry expertise and a local presence to support reliability, load growth and economic development in Louisiana; Bernhard is based in the state. The sellers said their consortium had invested about US$3bn in Cleco during its ownership, including grid resiliency projects approved by the state regulator in November 2025.
Deal terms and financing
Stonepeak will hold the majority interest at closing. The buyers committed to keep Cleco headquartered and locally managed in Pineville, retain its employees and their compensation and benefit levels, and maintain its operating footprint. Bloomberg reported before the announcement that the deal could value Cleco at between US$5.75bn and US$6bn; the parties did not confirm a figure.
Regulatory approvals and timing
The acquisition requires approvals from the Louisiana Public Service Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and expiry of the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period. The LPSC sought outside counsel in May 2026 to help staff review the application; no approval had been reported in the sources reviewed by October 2026.
Market context
Cleco has about 1,200 employees and its Cleco Power unit owns eight generating units with 2,676MW of rated capacity. State legislators had pressed for assurances that any sale would keep the headquarters in Pineville.
