Eversource Energy (ES) agreed to sell its public water supply unit to a local water authority in Connecticut in a deal worth roughly $2.4 billion, as the utility firm looks to focus on its core businesses.

The company will offload Aquarion Water to the Aquarion Water Authority, a newly created body alongside the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority, it said in a late Monday statement. The transaction amounts to roughly $1.6 billion in cash and $800 million of debt that will be extinguished at completion.

Eversource purchased Aquarion Water in 2017 for $1.68 billion. Aquarion Water, headquartered in Bridgeport, Connecticut, has more than 360 employees and serves customers across Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

The deal, which requires approval from public utility regulatory authorities in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, is expected to be completed later this year. Eversource said it will use the proceeds from the sale to pay down parent company debt and reinvest capital into its core electric and natural gas businesses.

"This transaction reinforces our commitment to our core electric and natural gas operations as the largest regulated utility in New England, allowing us to optimize our portfolio and strengthening our balance sheet while reinvesting capital to benefit our customers," Eversource Chief Executive Joe Nolan said in a statement. "We will continue to collaborate with all stakeholders across our service territories in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire to deliver cost-effective solutions."

Eversource expects the planned sale to result in a roughly $300 million loss, which will be recorded in its fourth-quarter results. The loss on sale includes about $140 million of estimated income tax expense, according to the company. It reiterated its long-term per-share earnings growth target of between 5% and 7% through 2028.

"Through the (Aquarion Water Authority transaction), we are advancing our water utility's regional supply strategy," said Sunder Lakshminarayanan, interim CEO of the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority and the Aquarion Water Authority.