Platinum Equity announced today the signing of a definitive agreement to sell the Hunterstown power generation facility and related assets to LS Power.
Financial terms were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2024.
Located in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the Hunterstown facility is a combined-cycle gas turbine generating power plant that provides 810 MW to the PJM (Met-Ed) 500kV grid, with enough to supply more than 600,000 homes.
“Hunterstown is an outstanding asset that has benefited from meaningful investment under our watch and has performed well operationally during our ownership,” said Platinum Equity Co-President Louis Samson. “It serves PJM, the largest electricity market in the United States, and has generated strong recurring revenue.”
Samson noted that Hunterstown’s debt structure also made it attractive to prospective buyers.
“We included a portability feature in our debt financing when we acquired the business that has proven helpful to getting a deal done in this tumultuous financing environment,” added Samson. “We believe this is another example of how our approach can create value across the full lifecycle of an investment, and how our transaction knowhow and ability to navigate choppy M&A and financing markets works to our advantage.”
Platinum Equity acquired the facility in 2018 from GenOn, a unit of NRG Energy Inc. (NYSE: NRG), which had filed for bankruptcy protection in June 2017.
“The Hunterstown investment represented an opportunistic way for us to create value in a sector that was experiencing dislocation and to put our toolkit to work for the benefit of the stakeholders involved,” said Platinum Equity Managing Director David Glatt. “We delivered a solution to a seller in need at a time of distress and provided strong operational stewardship to the business. We have now found a new home for the asset with a highly-experienced buyer. We believe that’s a win for everyone.”
Evercore is serving as financial advisor to Platinum Equity on the sale of Hunterstown and Latham & Watkins LLP is providing legal counsel to Platinum Equity.
About Platinum Equity
Founded in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity is a global investment firm with approximately $47 billion of assets under management and a portfolio of approximately 50 operating companies that serve customers around the world. Platinum Equity specializes in mergers, acquisitions and operations – a trademarked strategy it calls M&A&O® – acquiring and operating companies in a broad range of business markets, including manufacturing, distribution, transportation and logistics, equipment rental, metals services, media and entertainment, technology, telecommunications and other industries. Over the past 28 years Platinum Equity has completed more than 450 acquisitions.
