On December 10, 2025, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (“Commission”) issued an order approving the $6.2 billion sale of ALLETE, Inc. d/b/a Minnesota Power to Global Infrastructure Partners and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. The Taft team, led by Elizabeth (Liz) Brama and Kodi Verhalen, with support from Andy Carlson, Ina Avalon, and Spencer Rojas, represented ALLETE throughout the 15-month regulatory process.

This transaction, the largest Minnesota merger/acquisition announced in 2024 according to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, also marks the first time a Minnesota publicly traded electric utility has been taken private.  Commission approval enables ALLETE and its investor partners to provide approximately $200 million in financial benefits to Minnesota customers, in addition to historic additional customer, workforce, and community commitments and protections. As such, this transaction represents one of the largest and most unique utility regulatory matters in Minnesota in decades. Minnesota Power will remain an investor-owned public utility under Minnesota law and subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission.

The 19-month process included two weeks of public hearings throughout Minnesota Power’s service territory; one week of evidentiary hearing where nearly 20 witnesses were offered for cross-examination; responses from Minnesota Power and the Partners to 617 discovery requests comprised of nearly 1,400 individual requests for responses or documents; thousands of pages of pre-filed testimony and schedules; hundreds of pages of post-hearing briefing; and months of multi-party settlement negotiations that ultimately led to a coalition of support from the Minnesota Department of Commerce, labor groups, clean energy organizations, business groups, and low-income customer representatives. The matter was opposed by other parties and received extensive media attention.

In early October, the Commission approved the acquisition by unanimous vote. Shareholders previously approved the acquisition – with a 97% vote in favor – in 2024. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin approved the acquisition in late 2024 and early 2025, respectively. The acquisition is expected to close late this year.

More information is available from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission and ALLETE, Inc.