Mergers & Acquisitions

Five Years Later

Wall Street is back in business. What’s next for utility finance?

When Lehman Brothers went bankrupt in September 2008, it marked the beginning of a financial crisis. By most accounts, the utility industry has been a picture of stability through tumultuous times. The view from Wall Street remains bullish – despite some reasons for concern.

Transactions (August 2013)

During the month of June, MidAmerican issued $1 billion in bonds for solar projects in California; PG&E sold $750 million in two tranches; ITC floated bonds totaling $550 million; plus debt issues from Duke, TransCanada, Entergy, and others totaling $4.35 billion.

Transactions (July 2013)

Centerpoint, OGE, and ArcLight form $11-billion gas pipeline partnership; MidAmerican to acquire NV Energy; SolarCity raises $500 billion for solar lease financing; plus transactions and debt issues involving TransCanada, Atlantic Power, Duke-American Transmission Co., Northeast Utilities, and others, totaling $24 billion.

Transactions (June 2013)

Atlantic Power sells 800 MW of generating capacity in Florida and Texas; Goldman Sachs buys Imperial Valley project from FirstSolar; Duke acquires two solar plants in California; Southern Company and Turner Renewable Energy buy Campo Verde project; plus other deals and issues totaling more than $2 billion.

Transactions (May 2013)

Dominion agreed to buy three merchant power plants from Energy Capital Partners; First Solar acquired the 150 MW Solar Gen 2 project; Dynegy subsidiary Illinois Power Holdings will acquire Ameren Energy Resources and three subsidiaries; and others ...

Transactions (April 2013)

February was a quiet month for debt issues, with asset sales and equity issues dominating the market. Deals by NextEra, Sempra, SRP, Dominion, TransCanada, and others totaled at least $2.4 billion.

Transactions (March 2013)

Constellation sold gas assets in Alabama; Atlantic Power sold interests in three Florida cogeneration projects for $136 million; redeemed $150 million of preferred stock; plus debt issues by EdF, and Cheniere totaling $9.8 billion.

Transactions (February 2013)

NRG completes Gen-On acquisition; Dominion invests in midstream gas development; NextEra buys Cimarron I PV plant; People's Natural Gas acquires Equitable Gas; plus other other M&A and bond deals, together totaling $6.7 billion.

Transactions (January 2013)

Entergy acquires Kgen gas-fired plants in Arkansas and Mississippi; TransCanada buys BP share of Alberta gas storage facility; PSE acquires Tenaska plant; AEP issues $850 million in debt; Duke units float $650 million in bonds; plus debt issues by NextEra, Southern Company, Entergy, and others totaling nearly $3.2 billion.