Dominion sells Maryland gas plant stake to Berkshire Hathaway unit for $3.3 billion cash

Dominion sells Maryland gas plant stake to Berkshire Hathaway unit for $3.3 billion cash

Dominion Energy (D.N) agreed to sell its 50% stake in the Cove Point liquefied natural gas facility in Maryland's Chesapeake Bay to a unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N) for $3.3 billion in cash, the companies said on Monday.

Berkshire Hathaway Energy already operates the facility, and would upon closing have a 75% ownership stake. A unit of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIP.N) owns the remaining 25%.

Cove Point is located in Lusby, Maryland, about 60 miles (97 km) southeast of Washington, D.C.

Berkshire Hathaway Energy said the facility has a storage capacity of 14.6 billion cubic feet, and provides liquefied natural gas to supplant coal-burning power plants and support energy needs in 28 countries.

Robert Blue, Dominion's chief executive, in a statement said Dominion considers Cove Point a "non-core" business, and selling it would free the Richmond, Virginia-based company to focus on state-regulated utility operations.

Dominion also expects to receive about $200 million from the termination of interest-rate derivatives. It plans to use sale proceeds to repay debt.

The transaction is subject to federal regulatory approval, and expected to close by the end of 2023. If it failed to close under specified circumstances, Berkshire would owe Dominion a $150 million termination fee.

Berkshire Hathaway, based in Omaha, Nebraska, has held a controlling stake in Berkshire Hathaway Energy since 2000, and now has a 92% stake in the Des Moines, Iowa-based company.

Buffett's company also owns dozens of other businesses such as the BNSF railroad and Geico car insurance, as well as stocks such as Apple (AAPL.O).