Starwood Energy has sold its 25 percent class C stake in the Neptune Regional Transmission System to NM Neptune, LLC, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual.

The Neptune Regional Transmission System involves a 65-mile high-voltage. The underwater transmission cable connects Sayreville, New Jersey to Long Island, New York.

The Neptune system has been operational since 2007 and its 660MW of capacity are fully contracted to the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) under a 20-year agreement.

Ron Joelson, Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer for Northwestern Mutual, stated:

Neptune represents a significant addition to our infrastructure equity platform that we formally launched in 2013 within Northwestern Mutual Capital. The combination of current yield from an asset with strategic importance to the power markets of the Northeastern United States is very attractive. Our investment objective is to generate superior returns while maintaining a well-balanced and diversified investment portfolio to preserve the company's exceptional financial strength.

Starwood Energy Group, an affiliate of private real estate investment firm Starwood Capital Group, specializes in energy infrastructure investments, with a focus on the natural gas and renewable power generation, and transmission sectors. Through its general opportunity funds Starwood Energy Infrastructure Fund I and Starwood Energy Infrastructure Fund II, and other affiliated investment vehicles, Starwood Energy Group manages total equity commitments in excess of $2 billion, and has executed transactions totaling more than $4 billion in enterprise value.

Northwestern Mutual Capital is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, which is also its largest client. Northwestern Mutual Capital manages over $33 billion of private assets for its clients across a portfolio of investment grade private placements, mezzanine and equity co-investments in private equity transactions and private equity funds.