Williams to Sell $5.34 Billion Stake in Power Innovation Projects to Blackstone
The pipeline giant partners with Blackstone, Apollo and KKR to fund its energy-infrastructure buildout while preserving balance-sheet capacity.
Williams Companies (WMB) agreed to sell a stake in its first five Power Innovation projects to a consortium led by Blackstone for $5.34 billion. The transaction covers the Socrates, Apollo, Aquila, Socrates the Younger and Neo projects, forming the initial portfolio of Williams' push into power-demand infrastructure.
The partnership provides Williams with efficient equity capital to fund the growth of the existing projects, reduces capital exposure and limits corporate debt, and supports the company's stated long-term leverage target range of 3.5 times to 4.0 times. The deal is structured to enhance project returns while preserving balance-sheet capacity for additional high-return opportunities.
"We are thrilled to have Blackstone as a partner for our first five Power Innovation projects in a manner that enhances the economics of our projects and positions us to further scale and grow this exciting business," said Chad Zamarin, Williams' president and chief executive officer. He added that the investment from Blackstone, along with support from Apollo and KKR, "underscores the quality and importance of our turnkey energy infrastructure platform in serving rapidly growing power demand".
The deal arrives as utilities and midstream operators increasingly tap private-capital partners to bankroll energy-infrastructure buildouts. Portland General Electric (POR) struck a similar arrangement in February, partnering with Manulife Investment Management on its $1.9 billion acquisition of PacifiCorp's Washington state utility operations. That transaction, structured as a joint venture with Manulife holding a 49% stake, was designed to reduce PGE's equity needs and preserve balance-sheet strength while supporting sustained investment.
The partnership enhances the economics of the five projects and positions the company to scale its Power Innovation business further. The involvement of three top-tier alternative-asset managers — Blackstone, Apollo and KKR — signals growing institutional appetite for power-demand infrastructure as data-center and industrial load growth accelerates across the U.S..