Blackstone’s credit and insurance arm, alongside investment firms Apollo and KKR, has committed a $5.34bn (€4.68bn) investment to acquire a 49% non-controlling equity interest in five power projects being developed by US energy infrastructure firm Williams.
The investor group will provide $4.4bn to fund 49% of expected growth capital expenditures, alongside approximately $0.9bn of additional consideration to Williams, which will retain the remaining 51% majority interest in the previously announced Socrates, Apollo, Aquila, Socrates the Younger and Neo behind-the-meter power innovation projects.
NYSE-listed energy infrastructure giant Williams is known primarily for natural gas processing, transmission and midstream assets, operating an extensive pipeline network across North America.
Chad Zamarin, Williams president and CEO, said: “The investment from Blackstone, one of the world’s premier alternative asset managers, and the further support from top-tier investment firms Apollo and KKR, underscores the quality and importance of our turnkey energy infrastructure platform in serving rapidly growing power demand.
“With more than 2.6GW announced, our power innovation portfolio is scaling rapidly, and we look forward to delivering these critical energy solutions for American companies. The investment from Blackstone and its partners enhances returns on the existing portfolio through a meaningful promote structure, while enabling us to redeploy capital into new high-return projects that will further accelerate our long-term growth.”
Robert Horn, global head of infrastructure and asset-based credit at Blackstone, and Rick Campbell, senior managing director, Blackstone Credit & Insurance, said: “Williams is a leader in meeting the country’s rapidly growing power demands, including providing critical hard assets to serve the AI infrastructure buildout.
“This is an area where we share deep conviction and expertise and we’re proud to support Williams with a scaled, high-grade capital solution fit for these innovative projects.”
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