CALGARY - AltaGas Ltd. (TSX:ALA) says it will pay about US$642 million to acquire three natural gas-fired electrical generation facilities in northern California with a total capacity of 523 megawatts.
The three properties - the 330 MW Tracy facility, the 97 MW Hanford facility and the 96 MW Henrietta facility - are being acquired by its indirect wholly owned subsidiary, AltaGas Power Holdings (U.S.) Inc., in a deal with Highstar Capital IV, L.P. and certain of its affiliates.
The purchase is expected to close late in the fourth quarter of this year.
AltaGas said it will pay for the acquisition through a combination of equity and debt, including a planned bought-deal offering, was well as future debt and preferred share financings and potential dispositions of non-core assets.
Under the offering, the company will sell 8.76 million common shares at $34.25 per share to a syndicate of underwriters, co-led by TD Securities Inc. and BMO Capital Markets, for gross proceeds of about $300 million, or $345 million if an over-allotment option is exercised in full.
AltaGas also announced half-cent increase to its monthly dividend to 16.5 cents, effective for the October dividend, payable in November.