ST. PAUL — Minnesota regulators signed off on the final approval needed to sell Allete to a pair of private investment firms.

The five-member Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on Friday voted unanimously to approve the sale of Minnesota Power’s Duluth-based parent company to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and BlackRock-owned Global Infrastructure Partners.

The $6.2 billion deal, announced in May 2024, drew concern over private equity’s ownership of a utility and the potential for rising electricity rates.

“We are grateful to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission for their thorough review and approval of this important and strategic partnership, and recognition that this is in the public interest,” Bethany Owen, chair, president and CEO of Allete, said in a news release fol

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