Center Coast Brookfield MLP & Energy Infrastructure Fund Considering Strategic Options

NEW YORK, Aug. 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Brookfield Public Securities Group (�PSG”), the investment adviser to Center Coast Brookfield MLP & Energy Infrastructure Fund (“CEN”), in collaboration with the Board of Trustees of CEN, has been and continues to evaluate various strategic options for CEN seeking to advance and maximize shareholder value. This includes, without limitation, fund reorganizations within the Brookfield fund complex, reorganization opportunities with third parties and strategic portfolio repositioning, including a potential sale of all or a part of CEN’s holding in KKR Eagle. The Board expects to be in a position to present an option for shareholder action or otherwise by the end of the first quarter 2023.

Nevertheless, this effort is ongoing and there can be no guarantee that PSG and the Board will develop a proposal for announcement and execution by CEN. Each of these options presents certain investment, regulatory and federal income tax issues that PSG and the Board continue to evaluate. As a matter of policy, CEN does not comment on or provide the market with updates as to any specific strategic option under evaluation or the status of any informal expressions of interest or formal proposals or offers that may be presented to CEN from time to time, or the course of any discussions with any prospective counterparties, nor will it comment upon any rumors with regard to the foregoing or make a further announcement regarding any proposal or expression of interest until such time, if ever, that it has authorized a transaction or entered into a related definitive agreement or is otherwise required to make an announcement.

PSG is an SEC-registered investment adviser that represents the Public Securities platform of Brookfield Asset Management Inc., providing global listed real assets strategies including real estate equities, infrastructure equities, energy infrastructure equities, multi-strategy real asset solutions and real asset debt. With over $24 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2022, PSG manages separate accounts, registered funds and opportunistic strategies for financial institutions, public and private pension plans, insurance companies, endowments and foundations, sovereign wealth funds and individual investors. PSG is a wholly owned subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management Inc., a leading global alternative asset manager with approximately $725 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2022. For more information, go to https://publicsecurities.brookfield.com/.

Center Coast Brookfield MLP & Energy Infrastructure Fund is managed by PSG. The Fund uses its website as a channel of distribution of material information about the Fund. Financial and other material information regarding the Fund is routinely posted on and accessible at https://publicsecurities.brookfield.com/.

COMPANY CONTACT
Center Coast Brookfield MLP & Energy Infrastructure Fund

Brookfield Place
250 Vesey Street, 15th Floor
New York, NY 10281-1023
(855) 777-8001
publicsecurities.enquiries@brookfield.com

Investing involves risk; principal loss is possible. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

Risks
The outbreak of an infectious respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus known as “COVID-19” is causing materially reduced consumer demand and economic output, disrupting supply chains, resulting in market closures, travel restrictions and quarantines, and adversely impacting local and global economies. As with other serious economic disruptions, governmental authorities and regulators have responded to this crisis with significant fiscal and monetary policy changes, including by providing direct capital infusions into companies, introducing new monetary programs and considerably lowering interest rates, which in some cases resulted in negative interest rates. These actions, including their possible unexpected or sudden reversal or potential ineffectiveness, could further increase volatility in securities and other financial markets, reduce market liquidity, heighten investor uncertainty and adversely affect the value of the Fund’s investments and the performance of the Fund. Markets generally and the energy sector specifically, including master limited partnerships (“MLPs”) and energy infrastructure companies in which the Fund invests, have also been adversely impacted by reduced demand for oil and other energy commodities as a result of the slowdown in economic activity resulting from the spread of COVID-19 and by price competition among key oil-producing countries. While some vaccines have been developed and approved for use by various governments, the political, social, economic, market and financial risks of COVID-19 could persist for years to come. Markets have been impacted by a high level of inflation which has led to changes in central bank interest policies and increasing interest rates. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has also impacted energy supply globally as international government sanctions interfere with global energy markets. These developments have and may continue to adversely impact the Fund’s NAV and the market price of the Fund’s common shares.

The Fund’s investments are concentrated in the energy infrastructure industry with an emphasis on securities issued by MLPs, which may increase price fluctuation. The value of commodity-linked investments such as the MLPs and energy infrastructure companies (including midstream MLPs and energy infrastructure companies) in which the Fund invests are subject to risks specific to the industry they serve, such as fluctuations in commodity prices, reduced volumes of available natural gas or other energy commodities, slowdowns in new construction and acquisitions, a sustained reduced demand for crude oil, natural gas and refined petroleum products, depletion of the natural gas reserves or other commodities, changes in the macroeconomic or regulatory environment, environmental hazards, rising interest rates and threats of attack by terrorists on energy assets, each of which could affect the Fund’s profitability.

MLPs are subject to significant regulation and may be adversely affected by changes in the regulatory environment including the risk that an MLP could lose its tax status as a partnership. If an MLP was obligated to pay federal income tax on its income at the corporate tax rate, the amount of cash available for distribution would be reduced and such distributions received by the Fund would be taxed under federal income tax laws applicable to corporate dividends received (as dividend income, return of capital, or capital gain).

In addition, investing in MLPs involves additional risks as compared to the risks of investing in common stock, including risks related to cash flow, dilution and voting rights. Such companies may trade less frequently than larger companies due to their smaller capitalizations which may result in erratic price movement or difficulty in buying or selling.

The Fund is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company. As a result, the Fund’s returns may fluctuate to a greater extent than those of a diversified investment company. Shares of closed-end management investment companies, such as the Fund, frequently trade at a discount to their net asset value, which may increase investors’ risk of loss. The Fund is not a complete investment program and you may lose money investing in the Fund.

Because of the Fund’s concentration in MLP investments, the Fund is not eligible to be treated as a “regulated investment company” under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Instead, the Fund will be treated as a regular corporation, or “C” corporation, for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, as a result, unlike most investment companies, will be subject to corporate income tax to the extent the Fund recognizes taxable income.

An investment in MLP units involves risks that differ from a similar investment in equity securities, such as common stock, of a corporation. Holders of MLP units have the rights typically afforded to limited partners in a limited partnership. As compared to common shareholders of a corporation, holders of MLP units have more limited control and limited rights to vote on matters affecting the partnership. There are certain tax risks associated with an investment in MLP units. Additionally, conflicts of interest may exist between common unit holders, subordinated unit holders and the general partner of an MLP.

The Fund currently seeks to enhance the level of its current distributions by utilizing financial leverage through borrowing, including loans from financial institutions, or the issuance of commercial paper or other forms of debt, through the issuance of senior securities such as preferred shares, through reverse repurchase agreements, dollar rolls or similar transactions or through a combination of the foregoing. Financial leverage is a speculative technique and investors should note that there are special risks and costs associated with financial leverage.

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Words such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this document. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding the pursuit strategic options and aspects of the ongoing evaluation and timing of the evaluation. These statements are based on the current expectations of PSG and the Board. There are a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Such risks include the risk that PSG and the Board may not identify one or more strategic options or ultimately pursue a strategic option, the risk that the exploration of strategic alternatives or the public announcement thereof may be disruptive to the Fund’s business operations or cause the Fund’s stock price to fluctuate significantly, the risk that the Fund’s exploration of strategic options may be time consuming and may require the incurrence of significant costs and expenses, the risk that the exploration of strategic options could divert the attention of PSG from the ongoing management of the Fund’s portfolio and expose the Fund to potential litigation in connection with the process of exploring strategic options or any resulting transaction, among other risks and uncertainties set forth above, as well as the factors described in more detail in the Fund’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available at http://www.sec.gov, and the investor relations portion of the Fund’s corporate website. Except as required by law, the Fund assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements.

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