BY Fraser Tennant
In a move designed to meet growing power demands, US utility company Vistra is to acquire independent power producer Cogentrix Energy from US private equity firm Quantum Capital Group in a cash and stock transaction valued at $4bn.
Under the terms of the definitive agreement, the purchase of Cogentrix will be made up of $2.3bn in cash, $900m in Vistra stock and the assumption of $1.5bn in debt, partially offset by tax benefits expected to total roughly $700m.
“The Vistra team is excited to announce the acquisition of the Cogentrix portfolio, marking the second opportunistic expansion of our generation footprint over the past year to support our ability to serve growing customer demand in our key markets,” said Jim Burke, president and chief executive of Vistra. “Successfully integrating and operating generation assets is a major undertaking, and our talented team continues to demonstrate that it is a core competency of our company.”
Vistra’s acquisition consists of 10 modern natural gas generation facilities totalling approximately 5500 MW of capacity, including three combined cycle gas turbine facilities and two combustion turbine facilities, four combined cycle gas turbine facilities and one cogeneration facility.
The deal to acquire Cogentrix follows Vistra’s $1.9bn deal in May 2025 for seven gas-fired plants with nearly 2600 MW of combined capacity from Lotus Infrastructure Partners.
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement to sell substantially all of the Cogentrix portfolio to Vistra,” said Wil VanLoh, founder and chief executive of Quantum Capital Group. “We are excited to become shareholders of Vistra and have much confidence in Vistra’s ability to deliver long-term value through its industry-leading portfolio and operational excellence. Quantum thanks the Cogentrix team for their partnership and looks forward to seeing the business continue to grow as part of Vistra.”
The transaction – which is expected to close in mid to late 2026 – is subject to certain regulatory approvals, including by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Department of Justice under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and certain state regulatory approvals.
“Vistra continues to look for opportunities that allow us to meet the growing demand of customers and meet our disciplined investment thresholds,” concluded Mr Burke. “We look forward to closing the transaction and welcoming new team members to the Vistra family.”
News: Vistra to buy Cogentrix Energy in $4.7 billion deal amid surging power demand