Talen Energy, which owns 16,000 megawatts of electricity generation capacity, including the affiliate Susquehanna Nuclear LLC, has announced that it will merge with Riverstone Holdings LLC, a private investment firm based in New York City that specializes in energy companies.
The deal is valued at $5.2 billion with Riverstone acquiring Talen for $14 per share in cash, which is a 56 percent premium over the per share price at the close of stock trading on March 31, when news of the merger became public. Although expected, the merger was not announced until Friday.
The deal is subject to review by federal regulators, including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. It is also subject to a 40-day “go shop” period in which Talen is allowed to seek a better offer from other investors.
Talen was spun off from PPL Corp. last year. Since then, its stock value has dropped more than 50 percent, making it a predictable target for a take-over.
The company is currently based in Allentown, Pa., but its electricity generation spans the northeast, mid-Atlantic and southwestern regions. It operates nine natural gas/oil fired power plants in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Maryland, eight natural gas fired plants in Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Texas and Arizona, six coal-fired plants in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Montana, and one coal/natural gas/oil power plant in Maryland.
The Susquehanna Steam Electric Station near Berwick, Pa., is comprised of two boiling water reactors (BWR) with a combined capacity of 2,600 megawatts. Each of the reactors, which combined includes 1,200 full time employees, can power up to one million homes, according to the company Web site.