Coal Power Plant Owner Lightstone Pushes Out Debt Maturity, Sources Say

By Soma Biswas

Lightstone Generation LLC, which operates one of the largest coal-fired power plants in the country, closed on a refinancing of its $1.7 billion loan, according to people familiar with the matter.

The company, jointly owned by private equity firms ArcLight Capital Partners and the Blackstone Group launched a deal last month asking its lenders to extend the loan's maturity by three years to 2027 in return for a higher interest rate and other concessions, the people said.

Just over 90% of Lightstone's lenders have agreed to refinance the loan, one of the people said. Lenders' appetite to hold on to coal assets has been in question as financial institutions face pressure to reduce investments in enterprises that contribute heavily to greenhouse gas emissions.

Lightstone also operates three gas-fired plants in addition to the James M. Gavin coal-fired plant in Cheshire, Ohio. A spokesperson for Blackstone declined to comment, and the company didn't return calls.

Write to Soma Biswas at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-19-22 1554ET