en.Wedoany.com Reported - Williams announced on Monday that a consortium led by Blackstone will invest $5.34 billion to acquire a 49% non-controlling stake in five of its power generation projects. The funds will be used to support the business expansion of this US pipeline operator.

The consortium, which includes investment vehicles managed by Apollo and KKR, will provide $4.4 billion for these behind-the-meter projects, equivalent to 49% of the projects' expected growth capital expenditure, plus an additional $900 million.

As electricity demand from artificial intelligence centers and data centers surges, energy companies are building behind-the-meter projects that directly supply users, bypassing the grid. Private equity firms are increasingly financing such projects to ease the balance sheet pressure on energy companies.

The five projects involved in the transaction include Williams' Socrates, Apollo, Socrates the Younger, and Neo in Ohio, as well as the Aquila project. These projects are part of a broader pipeline Williams is developing, with a total capacity exceeding 6 gigawatts.

Under the agreement, Williams can repurchase its stake over a period of 7 to 14 years at the amount still outstanding from Blackstone's investment.

The company stated that the deal will reduce its capital commitments, preserve its balance sheet capacity, and enable it to maintain commercial and operational control as part of its long-term objectives.

The partnership will help expand its power innovation business, which has announced project capacity exceeding 2.6 gigawatts.