Ares Management acquires stake in Central Penn gas line

Ares Management Corp. has acquired 100% of the equity interests in Meade Pipeline Co. LLC from XPLR Infrastructure LP, an independent power producer formed by NextEra Energy Inc., for a total cash consideration of about $1.1 billion.

Meade owns about 40% of the Central Penn Line (CPL), a FERC-regulated, 180-mile pipeline that transports natural gas from 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).

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 about 2.3 bcfd of gross capacity.