Shares of CenterPoint Energy Inc. gained 0.3% in premarket trading Thursday, after the Texas-based electric and gas utility announced a deal to sell its Arkansas and Oklahoma natural gas local distribution company (LDC) assets for $2.15 billion in cash to Summit Utilities. The assets include about 17,000 miles of pipeline. CenterPoint said the proceeds from the sale include $1.725 billion in cash and $425 million in cash unrecovered storm costs. “This valuation represents a landmark multiple for the LDC space and is a clear testament of the premium utility assets in these two jurisdictions,” said CenterPoint Chief Executive Dave Lesar. The stock has gained 10.6% year to date through Wednesday, while the SPDR Utilities Select Sector ETF has tacked on 4.6% and the S&P 500 has advanced 11.4%.
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