Southern Power, a leading U.S. wholesale energy provider and subsidiary of Southern Company, announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell a 33 percent minority interest in its solar portfolio to Global Atlantic Financial Group Limited for a purchase price of $1.175 billion.

The portfolio of projects involved in this transaction is comprised of 26 operating solar facilities representing approximately 1.7 gigawatts of capacity. The energy from these facilities is sold under long-term contracts with valued customers across the country.

"We are excited about our new partnership with Global Atlantic," said Southern Power President and CEO Mark Lantrip. "Our partnership has strong strategic alignment, as we are both focused on delivering long-term value to our customers and stakeholders. We look forward to working alongside Global Atlantic as we continue our work to provide clean, safe, reliable and affordable wholesale energy to our customers across the U.S."

Southern Power, through its subsidiaries, will act as the general partner in the partnership and will maintain overall operational responsibilities for the projects.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. is serving as the financial advisor and Jones Day is serving as legal counsel to Southern Power. Troutman Sanders acted as supporting counsel for this transaction. Vinson & Elkins is serving as legal counsel to Global Atlantic Financial Group.