Shares of CenterPoint Energy Inc.
CNP,
+0.55%
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
XLU,
-0.14%
has tacked on 4.6% and the S&P 500
SPX,
-0.08%
has advanced 11.4%.
