NextEra Energy to sell gas powered assets for $1 billion

(Reuters) - NextEra Energy Inc, the largest U.S. renewable energy operator, said its subsidiary will sell four natural gas-based power plants for $1.05 billion to power generation and transmission company LS Power Group.

The four plants, owned by the company subsidiary NextEra Energy Resources LLC, have a capacity of 2152 megawatts.

"While there are attractive aspects for each of these assets, they have a limited strategic fit in our portfolio," NextEra Energy Resources's Chief Executive Mitch Davidson said in a statement.

The deal is expected to result in net cash proceeds of about $500 million after the repayment of debt and transaction costs, the company said.

NextEra Energy said it will take one-time charges of about $97 million as a result of the deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.

The company said it will continue to consider the sale of its assets at Rhode Island State Energy Center.

Shares of the company were trading up slightly at $56.83 after the bell. They closed at $56.72 on Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Divya Lad in Bangalore; Editing by Joyjeet Das)