FILE PHOTO: Plants surround the logo of energy infrastructure company Sempra Infrastructure during the LNG 2023 energy trade show in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 12, 2023. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo

(Reuters) -Sempra said on Tuesday it would sell a 45% stake in its infrastructure unit for $10 billion, and has approved a $14 billion expansion of Port Arthur LNG project in Texas, sending the utility's shares to their highest in nearly seven months.

The stake sale to KKR, along with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, implies an equity value of $22.2 billion for Sempra Infrastructure Partners, which houses liquefied natural gas assets and related pipeline and storage infrastructure.

A KKR-led consortium will hold 65% of the unit, while Sempra will retain 25% and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority will keep 10% after the deal closes, which is expected between the second and third quarters of 2026.

Private equity firms have been aggressively investing in power infrastructure, driven by surging electricity demand from AI data centers and rising domestic consumption.

For Sempra, the deal will help simplify its business model, reduce exposure to non-utility assets and eliminate the need to issue common stock to fund its $56 billion capital plan for 2025–2029.

The company said the transaction is expected to add about 20 cents to annual earnings per share from 2027.

Sempra shares rose more than 4% to $85.83. The company also announced that Sempra Infrastructure Partners has reached a final investment decision for the expansion of Port Arthur LNG Phase 2.

The project will add two liquefaction trains, an LNG storage tank and related facilities, and increase capacity by 13 million tonnes per year. Commercial operations are planned for 2030 and 2031.

The move underscores a rapidly growing demand for U.S. exports of the superchilled fuel.

Funding for the expansion comes from a $7 billion minority equity investment led by Blackstone Credit & Insurance, along with KKR, Apollo-managed funds and Goldman Sachs Alternatives. Sempra Infrastructure Partners said it would retain a 50.1% stake in the project.

(Reporting by Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)