Ares Management acquires Meade Pipeline for $1.1B

Ares Management (ARES) announced that funds led by its Infrastructure Opportunities strategy have acquired 100% of the equity interests in Meade Pipeline Co from affiliates of XPLR Infrastructure, an independent power producer formed by NextEra Energy (NEE). The investment represents a total cash consideration of approximately $1.1B. Meade owns approximately 40% of the Central Penn Line, a FERC-regulated, 180-mile pipeline that transports natural gas from prolific production zones in the Marcellus and Utica Shale in Northeast Pennsylvania to demand centers in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast via interconnection with Williams Companies’ Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line. Transco is a joint owner of CPL and serves as operator of the pipeline via two separate long-term triple-net-lease agreements. The pipeline began transporting gas in 2018 and, coupled with its Leidy South expansion that was completed in 2022, represents approximately 2.3 bcf/day of gross capacity.