Howard Midstream Energy Partners, LLC (HEP) announced on Monday that investment funds managed by Alinda Capital Partners (Alinda) have acquired a 59 % capital unit interest in Howard.

The 59 % interest in HEP acquired by Alinda represents the ownership previously held by Quanta Capital Solutions, Inc., GE Energy Financial Services, Clear Springs Energy, LLC and other minority interest holders. Post-closing, Crosstex Energy, L.P., an integrated midstream energy partnership headquartered in Dallas, will retain its 31 % ownership of the outstanding capital units in HEP, with the remaining capital units owned by management and other minority interest holders. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. acted as exclusive financial advisor to HEP in the transaction.

Howard Energy Partners is an independent midstream energy company, owning and operating approximately 500 miles of natural gas pipelines, natural gas liquids processing plants, amine treating plants, a railroad park and other related midstream facilities in South Texas primarily serving the Olmos, Escondido and Eagle Ford resource plays.

Mike Howard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Howard Energy Partners, said:

"Relationships are very important to us and we have a long history of working with strong partners who share our vision and values. Quanta, Clear Springs Energy and GE have been very important and beneficial partners to us and we look forward to now working with Alinda and Crosstex. We are confident that this new partnership will allow us to expand into new business lines, offering our customers an even broader range of midstream services."

Chris Beale, Alinda's Managing Partner, said:

"We are delighted to be entering into a partnership with the Howard Energy Partners management team and Crosstex. In a very short time, HEP has built an impressive base of midstream assets supporting energy producers in South Texas. We are excited by the prospects for growth and look forward to working with our partners to support the ongoing development of critical energy infrastructure in the Eagle Ford region."

Barry E. Davis, Crosstex President and Chief Executive Officer, said:

"The Howard team has demonstrated the ability to create significant value and we believe there is greater upside potential to come with this investment. We look forward to continuing our successful partnership with Howard alongside Alinda as a new investment partner."