Duke Energy closes sale of Latin America businesses to I Squared Capital

Charlotte-based Duke Energy on Tuesday completed the $1.2 billion sale of its international businesses in Central and South America to I Squared Capital.

The sale, which Duke announced in October, is part of its move toward regulated, core business in the U.S. Duke closed its $4.9 billion purchase of Piedmont Natural Gas, which is also headquartered in Charlotte, on Oct. 3.

I Squared Capital will own businesses in Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, El Salvador and Argentina. Those include hydroelectric and thermal power plants, transmission infrastructure and natural gas processing facilities.

Duke separately sold its hydroelectric plants in Brazil to China Three Gorges Corp. for $1.2 billion.

“We are pleased to have closed this transaction so quickly,” Duke CEO Lynn Good said in a statement Tuesday. “The sale of the Brazilian assets is expected to be completed in the near future.”

Duke said it will use the approximately $1 billion in cash proceeds from the I Squared deal to reduce holding company debt.

This story was originally published December 20, 2016 at 2:36 PM with the headline "Duke Energy closes sale of Latin America businesses to I Squared Capital."