FirstEnergy Corp. announced it has completed the previously disclosed sale of an additional 30% ownership interest in its FirstEnergy Transmission, LLC (FET) subsidiary to Brookfield Super-Core Infrastructure Partners (Brookfield) for $3.5 billion.
FirstEnergy received $2.3 billion of cash proceeds at closing, with the remaining $1.2 billion in interest-bearing notes due from Brookfield, which are expected to be paid off by the end of 2024. Proceeds from the transaction will be used to further strengthen FirstEnergy's balance sheet and support its five-year, $26 billion Energize365 grid investment program.
This transaction follows Brookfield's purchase of a 19.9% ownership interest in FET for $2.4 billion in 2022 and, with its closing, FirstEnergy will have completed approximately $7 billion in strategic equity financings at an equivalent share price of $87 per share, or 36x trailing 12-month price-to-earnings valuation since late 2021.
"With the successful completion of this transaction, FirstEnergy is entering a new era of financial strength and growth," said Brian X. Tierney, FirstEnergy President and Chief Executive Officer. "We are pleased to leverage this strong foundation to make important investments to deliver reliable and safe power to our customers and meet the energy challenges of the future."
"We are pleased to build on our successful partnership with FirstEnergy with a scaled follow-on investment in FET," said Natalie Hadad, Managing Partner in Brookfield's Infrastructure Group and Co-Head of Brookfield Super-Core Infrastructure Partners (BSIP). "FET is a marquee, high-quality business with unique long-term capital investment and value creation opportunities, which is well aligned with our mutual objectives around the decarbonization and electrification of the economy. This transaction underscores BSIP's strategy of investing in essential infrastructure assets that generate stable long-term cashflows across market cycles."
FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving more than 6 million customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions.
