Duke Energy has closed on the sale of its Commercial Renewables business to Brookfield and the company is renamed Deriva Energy. The new acquisition will maintain its operations in Charlotte and the employees will transition to the new company.
Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Duke Energy is a utility that provides electric services to more than 7 million customers in the Carolinas, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, including retail natural gas service to over 500,000 customers in Ohio and Kentucky.
The process began in In November 2022, when Duke launched an auction for its commercial renewable energy platform. In June of 2023 it was announced that Duke Energy reached an agreement to sell its commercial renewable energy business for cash consideration of $1.1 billion and the assumption of $1.7 billion total debt. The utility had previously put a $4 billion valuation on its broader utility-scale renewables business.
“Today is a significant milestone for our business and opens an exciting new chapter in our history,” said Chris Fallon, president of Deriva Energy.
He noted that Deriva is now an independent developer, owner and operator of clean energy projects with the backing of Brookfield. Brookfield is one of the world’s largest owners and operators of renewable power plants, with approximately 900 GW of combined operating and pipeline capacity across all major U.S. power grids.
“As part of Brookfield, we have access to capital for growth and a wealth of operating expertise, which will enable us to continue our leadership in clean energy for many years to come,” Fallon said.
The closure of this sale is the final step in Duke Energy’s portfolio re-positioning to a fully regulated utility. In July 2023, Duke announced an agreement to sell its commercial distributed generation business to an affiliate of ArcLight Capital Partners for an enterprise value of $364 million. Duke said it expected about $259 million of net proceeds from the transaction.
The two divestments support Duke’s focus on the growth of its regulated businesses, including investments to enhance grid reliability and incorporate over 30 GW of regulated renewable energy into its grid by 2035.
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC served as financial advisors to Duke Energy for this transaction. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP served as legal counsel to Duke Energy.
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