A consortium led by BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners and Swedish private equity firm EQT AB agreed to buy AES Corp. in a deal valued at about $33.4 billion including debt.
AES said it expects its sale to private equity to close in late 2026 or early 2027. The company said its Indiana and Ohio utilities would remain locally operated and managed. Together, AES Indiana and AES Ohio serve about 1.1 million customers.
If approved by regulators, the consortium would acquire AES for $15/share in cash, representing a total equity value of $10.7 billion.
The investment group also includes California Public Employees’ Retirement System and the Qatar Investment Authority.
At the end of 2025, AES had $27.56 billion in net debt. Without the sale, AES said it would have been forced to reduce or eliminate dividend payments or make considerable new equity issuances.
AES said it has a “significant need for capital” beyond 2027 to meet demand growth. The company’s board of directors unanimously approved the transaction.
“This transaction will better position AES to drive long-term growth across its business units, including regulated electric utilities and competitive clean energy in the U.S. and critical energy infrastructure assets in Latin America. The consortium has deep experience investing in energy infrastructure businesses and shares AES’ commitment to safety, affordability and customer service,” AES said in a March 2 announcement.
AES said through the acquisition, it will become a “premier clean energy platform across the Americas.” It said it has 11.8 GW of clean energy supply agreements in place with major technology firms.
The company reported that as of late 2024, it has a little more than 32 GW of total gross capacity in operation; 64% of that renewable energy.
The deal continues a pattern of BlackRock and other asset managers expanding their reach into public utilities.
Global Infrastructure Partners, along with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, took Allete and Minnesota Power private for $6.2 billion in 2025. (See Minnesota PUC Approves BlackRock’s Purchase of Allete.)
The purchase agreement comes as AES Indiana and other Indiana utilities face a regulatory inquiry into energy affordability after raising their rates. (See Indiana Commission Opens Affordability Inquiry into Utilities.)
AES Board or Directors Chair Jay Morse said the decision followed a “rigorous review” of options. He said the sale is in the best interest of AES stockholders.
CEO Andrés Gluski also said the acquisition would “maximize value for existing stockholders and position the company for long-term success.”
AES cancelled a March 3 conference call to review its fourth quarter and 2025 financial results. Over 2024, AES reported $12.28 billion in total revenue, a roughly 3% decline from 2023.
