Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Announces Sale of Southern Star Central Corp.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Morgan Stanley Infrastructure (MSI), the dedicated infrastructure investing platform of Morgan Stanley, announced today that it has agreed to sell Southern Star Central Corp. (Southern Star) to a consortium consisting of affiliates of GE Energy Financial Services and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Southern Star, headquartered in Owensboro, Kentucky, is a FERC-regulated interstate natural gas transmission and storage system, consisting of over 5,800 miles of pipeline and 47 billion cubic feet of working gas storage capacity. The company has facilities and employees in eight states. The system serves utility, municipal, commercial, industrial and power generation customers in the U.S. Midwest with natural gas sourced in large and growing production fields in the U.S. Midcontinent and Rockies regions. MSI acquired its 100 percent interest in Southern Star through two separate negotiated transactions.

"The successful acquisition and sale of Southern Star together demonstrate Morgan Stanley Infrastructure's strong capabilities in proprietary deal sourcing and operationally focused value creation," said Markus Hottenrott, Chief Investment Officer of MSI. "The team's hands-on approach played a significant role in achieving a highly positive outcome."

"The strong working relationship between Morgan Stanley Infrastructure and Southern Star's senior management over the past five years has served to focus the company on continued operational excellence, while at the same time seeking out new customers and markets for the system," said John Veech, Head of Americas Investing for MSI. "As a result, we created significant value at Southern Star."

Morgan Stanley Infrastructure is a leading global infrastructure investment platform. Morgan Stanley Infrastructure employs an established, disciplined process to invest in diverse infrastructure assets in predominantly OECD countries and seeks to create value through active asset management and operational improvements. Morgan Stanley Infrastructure's team, one of the largest in the industry, is based in New York, London, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Amsterdam and Mumbai. Team members possess considerable knowledge and experience with respect to investing in and managing infrastructure assets and leverage their own senior-level relationships as well as the unparalleled global network of Morgan Stanley to source investment opportunities. Morgan Stanley Infrastructure is part of Morgan Stanley Merchant Banking & Real Estate Investing.

Morgan Stanley Merchant Banking & Real Estate Investing (MB&REI) is Morgan Stanley's direct private investing group that puts capital to work on behalf of a diverse client base, including governments, institutions, corporations, and individuals worldwide. MB&REI employs a consistent, proven value-creation approach across a full range of strategies, including private equity, real assets, and credit. From 22 locations around the world, over 400 experienced professionals with extensive private markets expertise and access to Morgan Stanley's global franchise provide an unparalleled network to source investment intelligence and opportunities. MB&REI's deep resources include best-in-class reporting, operations, and risk management, providing investors with a comprehensive approach to disciplined investing.

Morgan Stanley MS is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. With offices in more than 43 countries, the Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For further information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.