Australia's Macquarie to buy US power company Duquesne - Yahoo! News

SYDNEY (AFP) - An Australian consortium led by Macquarie Bank has agreed to a friendly 1.59 billion US dollar takeover of US utility Duquesne Light Holdings, companies involved in the negotiations said.
Macquarie said Duquesne, which supplies electricity to more than 587,000 customers in the Pittsburgh region, was a strong, stable company that represented "an excellent long-term investment for our consortium".
"We are pleased to have this opportunity to link with this well-established, solidly-run, locally-based utility as Macquarie further expands its infrastructure in the United States," Macquarie Infrastructure Partners chief executive Christopher Leslie said in a statement released in New York overnight.
The deal, which represents a premium of 21.7 percent on Duquesne's last closing share price, has been approved by the boards of both the target company and the Macquarie consortium.
"This is the right transaction at the right time with the right partner," Duquesne chief executive Morgan O'Brien said.
Amid debate in the United States about foreign ownership of infrastructure assets, Macquarie agreed to keep Duquesne's headquarters in Pittsburgh as part of the deal.
The Macquarie consortium comprises Macquarie Infrastructure Partners, a subsidiary of the Australian bank, and Diversified Utility and Energy Trusts, a joint venture between Macquarie and Australian financial services firm AMP.
The Duquesne takeover follows Sydney-based Babcock and Brown's purchase of Montana electricity firm NorthWestern Corp for 2.2 billion US dollars in April this year.
Macquarie, Australia's largest investment bank, manages more than 140.3 billion Australian dollars of assets around the world, ranging from airports and toll roads to utilities and business properties.